Dozens of people were feared dead after an explosion ripped through homes in Yemen's capital

SANA, Yemen — Dozens of people were feared dead after an airstrike on Monday morning by a Saudi-led military coalition set off a huge explosion that flattened homes in the Yemeni capital, according to witnesses.

The explosion shattered windows and shook buildings miles from the site of the attack, in the Faj Attan area of the capital, Sana. The wounded were taken to a nearby hospital in a stream of ambulances and trucks, and medical workers called for blood donations.

In the early afternoon on Monday, rescue workers continued searching for people in what remained of houses that had collapsed in the blast.


The explosion, which residents described as having felt like an earthquake, followed a series of airstrikes over the past week in the area, a mountaintop military site. Residents said it was possible that one of the coalition bombs had struck a munitions cache, causing the blast.
Continue reading the main story
Related Coverage

    A weapons depot was struck by an airstrike in Sana. Saudi airstrikes have left Yemen facing the likelihood of a devastated military.
    Yemen Houthi Leader Is Defiant in Face of Saudi AirstrikesAPRIL 19, 2015

Dozens and perhaps hundreds of civilians have been killed in airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition since it began a bombing campaign in Yemen more than three weeks ago, with the stated objective of crippling the Houthis, a militant group from northern Yemen.

The coalition has bombed military installations across the country but has also hit factories, gas stations and residential neighborhoods, according to witnesses and aid workers.

The relief organization Oxfam said in a statement on Sunday that the coalition had also bombed one of its storage facilities in Saada Province, in northwest Yemen.

“The contents of the warehouse had no military value,” the group said. “This is an absolute outrage, particularly when one considers that we have shared detailed information with the coalition on the locations of our offices and storage facilities.”

Rights workers have said that some of the strikes may amount to war crimes, for instance if civilians were deliberately targeted or if war planners failed to distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The Obama administration is supporting the Saudi-led military action by providing intelligence and logistical assistance.

A few hours after the explosion on Monday, as rescue workers dug through collapsed houses, warplanes could be heard circling overhead again.