One of Yemen’s Most Unforgettable Tragedies, the Saudi Targeting of a Funeral
YemenExtra
On this day, specifically on the afternoon of Saturday, October 8, 2016, the Saudi-led aggressive coalition, backed by the US, was hovering over the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, monitoring those crowds of civilians that were gathering to give their condolences to the Al-Ruwaishan family in a funeral that was held in the “Great Hall”.
It did not take much for the Saudi-led aggressive coalition warplanes to carry out raids on the funeral hall, in succession, to turn this funeral of the Al-Rawaishan family into a funeral for all Yemenis. It was one of the bloodiest crimes of the era that claimed hundreds of lives and resulted in the injury of hundreds.
Today marks the fourth commemoration of the unprecedented “Great Hall” massacre, and the coalition of aggression is still targeting Yemen, not differing between civilians’ homes, mourning ceremonies, and weddings, which are considered as full-fledged war crimes.
This horrific massacre will never be forgotten by the Yemeni people, and it will remain as a horrific incident many Yemenis can relate to and will be added to the criminal record of the Saudi aggressive Coalition.
Tragedy scene:
It wan an unbelievable tragedy that was neglected by the world, and broke the laws and humanitarian rights. Therefore, Yemenis assure that the aggressive Saudi-led coalition will pay the price, no matter how much time passes.
The massacre was committed after the masses of mourners arrived at the Great Hall, most of them were social, military, political figures, academics, and intellectuals from various regions of Yemen.
It was one of the worst days people experienced in Sana’a, as they witnessed one of the most heinous massacres committed against civilians since the beginning of the Saudi aggression. On this day, many homes in the capital had people crying for this crime, many lost their loved ones, and others panicked for not knowing if those they were searching for were killed in the Saudi attack, or were injured, or managed to escape.
Double international standards:
Despite the overt international complicity with the aggressive Saudi coalition, which turned Yemen into a slaughterhouse and an arena for conducting brutal crimes. The war on Yemen is no longer forgotten, even if the international community continues to be deliberately absent, silent, and ignoring the massacres carried out by the Saudi aggression. In addition, the failure of international human rights organizations to play their humanitarian role towards the injustice of the Yemeni people.
The commemoration of this heinous crime represents a message to the US-backed Saudi-led aggressive coalition, which is that the Yemeni people and the many people all over the world, will not forget the crime of bombing the packed funeral hall, in addition to many other crimes.