الحوثي يستهدف مركزاً صحياً في لحج.. والحكومة تتوعد بملاحقة المسؤولين

In a new attack targeting civilian and medical facilities in Yemen, the Houthi terrorist militia targeted the Al-Suqayah Health Center in the Al-Mudharabah district of Lahij Governorate with a ballistic missile, resulting in the death of five people, including three medical staff, and injuring 15 others. This development brings attention back to the dangers of targeting health facilities and their workers, and the implications for medical services provided to civilians.

The Yemeni Prime Minister, Dr. Shaea Mohsen Al-Zandani, described the attack as a terrorist crime and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, emphasizing that targeting a health facility that plays a humanitarian role in saving lives represents a direct assault on the citizens' right to life, treatment, and safety.

Al-Zandani stressed during a call he made on (Monday) to the Lahij Governor Murad Al-Halimi to inquire about the details of the attack and the extent of human and material losses, that targeting medical facilities reveals the seriousness of the assaults on civilian facilities and deprives residents of essential health services they desperately need.

Taiz at the Forefront of Violations

The Yemeni Prime Minister linked the attack on the Al-Suqayah Health Center to the record of Houthi violations in Taiz Governorate, where assaults on medical facilities, civilians, and residential neighborhoods continue, alongside the ongoing siege and shelling. He pointed out that the recurrence of these assaults in Lahij, Taiz, and other governorates confirms the widening scope of the dangers facing civilians and their basic resources.

Al-Zandani warned that silence regarding the targeting of health facilities or treating it as a passing event encourages the repetition of violations and undermines the rules for protecting civilians guaranteed by international humanitarian law, calling for a firm national and international stance and accountability for those responsible for these crimes.

Documenting and Pursuing the Responsible

In a governmental move to address the repercussions of the attack, the Yemeni Prime Minister directed local authorities and health and security agencies in Lahij to intensify efforts to provide necessary medical care to the injured and to follow up on the needs of the victims' families, in addition to taking necessary measures to document the crime and gather evidence, ensuring the prosecution and accountability of the perpetrators.

In the same context, the Yemeni Ministry of Public Health and Population condemned the criminal attack on the Al-Suqayah Health Center, confirming the death of five people and the injury of 15 others, including three fatalities and seven wounded from the medical team working at the center, in a blatant violation of humanitarian and international laws and norms that guarantee the protection of health facilities and their workers, patients, and visitors.

The ministry clarified that targeting health facilities represents a serious crime and a flagrant violation of the principle of neutralizing medical facilities from armed conflicts and a direct assault on the right of civilians to access healthcare, as it poses a threat to the lives of patients, the injured, and health practitioners who perform their humanitarian duty in saving lives and providing medical services without discrimination.

The targeting of the Al-Suqayah Health Center places the issue of protecting medical facilities and health sector workers before a new challenge, amid the ongoing war and the deterioration of essential services in several Yemeni governorates, with direct repercussions on the lives of civilians and their ability to access healthcare.