Military officials in Yemen say Saudi Arabia has carried out a chemical attack in eastern Yemen, as Riyadh continues its military aggression against the impoverished Arab country.
Yemen’s army spokesman Sharaf Luqman said on Tuesday that Saudi warplanes have bombarded areas in Ma’rib Province using chemical and biological agents.
Luqman, who was speaking to Lebanon’s al-Mayadin TV, would not elaborate on further details, but said the attacks have failed to assist “terrorists” and militants loyal to the fugitive former Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, to retake territory in Ma’rib and advance toward the capital, Sana’a. The provincial capital city of Ma’rib is located about 195 kilometers (121 miles) east of the capital.
Riyadh has been seeking to take control of Sana’a from the Houthi Ansarullah movement. Reports broke out in the Saudi-run media outlets earlier in the day claiming that militants loyal to Hadi and Saudi Arabia have made inroads in Ma’rib.
Meanwhile, Luqman also spoke of some “sleeper cells” in Sana’a, where he said a large amount of weapons and ammunition is stored. He said the cells are planning attacks on civilians and security forces to prepare the ground for the advance of anti-revolutionary forces into the city.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Ali al-Houthi, who serves as the chairman of Yemen’s Revolutionary Committee, said if Saudi Arabia is serious in its claim of supporting the Arab nations, it had better support Palestinians and guard the al-Aqsa Mosque. Houthi was referring to a recent surge of violence in the occupied Palestinian territories, where dozens of Palestinians have been killed in fresh attacks by Israeli forces and settlers.
Houthi said Saudi Arabia would utterly fail in its plans for “disintegration of Yemen.”
Yemen has been under military strikes on a daily basis since Saudi forces launched their military aggression against the country on March 26 in a bid to undermine Ansarullah and restore power to Hadi, who is a staunch ally of Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia has also for several times used banned cluster bombs in its aggression against Yemen.
Yemeni sources said in mid-September that Saudi warplanes attacked residential areas in Baqim district in Yemen’s northwestern Sa’ada province with cluster munitions. A report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in late May provided evidence showing Saudi Arabia has pounded Yemen with internationally banned cluster bombs. The New York-based rights organization said the cluster bombs have targeted civilians and residential areas in north Yemen, identifying three types of the deadly ammunition used in the attacks.
According to a Yemeni coalition of observers monitoring the Saudi aggression against Yemen, about 6,979 people, including 1,986 children, have reportedly lost their lives in the Saudi airstrikes, and a total of at least 14,643 people have been injured since March.
Featured image: Reuters