Local Editor
The Saudi-coalition forces bombing Yemen took the war to a more violent level; after bombing hospitals, cattle and poultry fields, houses, and infrastructure, the coalition forces started striking water reservoirs in the Persian Gulf country, reported raialyoum online Arabic-language newspaper.
For nearly a year, Yemen’s water infrastructure appears to have been under deliberate attack, yet the latest attack that took place on Monday February 8 was considered to be the harshest, causing immense suffering.
The newspaper said "Saudi-coalition war jets targeted water reservoirs in the area of Nahidin in the capital Sana’a." The reconstruction of the reservoir, which provides more than 30 thousand people with water, will cost around $4 million dollars.
Moreover, the newspaper quoted media spokesman of the water company in the Yemeni capital, who questioned the act, saying, "How can the Saudi-coalition war jets "mistakenly" hit water reservoirs as war targets, even though it owns developed technology and radars that can determine targets clearly?"
He further said, "this is a deliberate attack on the water infrastructure, in an attempt to increase the agony and suffering of the Yemeni civilians, of whom hundreds are on the verge of death due to hunger and the dire circumstances in the country," adding that "the people are destined to die thirsty following this act."
Earlier, in the second week of January 2016, photos circulated on social media of what showed the destruction by a Saudi-led coalition airstrike on a seawater desalination plant near Mocha on the coast of the Taiz Governorate.
"Taiz is water starved and the plant was supposed to be able to supply its population with clean water. Now it is badly damaged if not totally destroyed. This would be terrible in peace time but it is catastrophic given the conditions the citizens of Taiz are living under," said a report.
The widespread Saudi airstrikes on the water reservoirs is exacerbating the longstanding water crisis in the country as the Saudi-led attacks continue in violation of international law.
Around half of Yemen’s population, a staggering 13 million citizens struggles daily to find or buy enough clean water to drink or grow food. According to the World Health Organisation’s head of mission in Yemen, if the shortages are not decreased any time soon, there is a chance of large-scale epidemics.
Since the beginning of the Saudi aggression on Yemen, the Nahidin reservoir had been targeted by warplanes some 20 times and sustained partial damage but on Monday it was completely destroyed. Meanwhile, Farsnews agency said that Saudi war machine conducted three airstrikes on a dam in the Sirwah district in the central Ma’rib Province and caused heavy damage to its structure.
Some 8,280 people, among them 2,236 children, have been killed and over 16,000 others injured. The strikes have also taken a heavy toll on the impoverished country’s infrastructure.
Yemen has been under airstrikes by Saudi Arabia and its allies since March 26 2015. The Saudi strikes were meant to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and bring fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi forcefully back to power.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
