3,512 KILLED IN SAUDI OFFENSIVE: YEMEN NGO

Some 3,512 people have been killed in a Saudi-led air campaign against Yemen's Shiite Houthi group, a Yemeni NGO said Monday. (Photo: AA) — Some 3,512 people have been killed in a Saudi-led air campaign against Yemen’s Shiite Houthi group, a Yemeni NGO said Monday. (Photo: AA)

Sanaa, 9 Rajab 1436/28 April 2015 (MINA) – Some 3,512 people have been killed in a Saudi-led air campaign against Yemen’s Shiite Houthi group, a Yemeni NGO said Monday.

The Freedom House for Anti-Corruption and Defense of Rights and Freedoms said that 492 children and 209 women had been among those killed by the offensive, Yemen’s Houthi-held news agency reported.

According to the Yemeni NGO, a total of 6,189 people have been injured by the strikes, meanwhile, including 978 children and 713 women, Anadolu Agency quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

The pro-Houthi organization also said that between 90,000 and 95,000 families had been displaced – and 4,898 homes damaged – during one month of Saudi-led aerial bombardments.

Yemen in general has remained in a state of turmoil since 2011, when a popular uprising forced ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down a year later.

Almost one month ago, Saudi Arabia and several other Arab states launched an air campaign against Yemen’s Shiite Houthi group.

Riyadh says the strikes are in response to appeals by embattled Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi for help against the Houthis, who overran capital Sanaa late last year before advancing on other provinces. (T/P001/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)