As we’re learning more about what happened to that MSF hospital in Kunduz, MSF keeps losing more hospitals. Yesterday an MSF hospital in the northern Saada province was destroyed, most likely in an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition that’s been fighting the Houthi-led insurgency on behalf of Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi. The Saudi coalition initially admitted that its aircraft were bombing Saada but denied striking the hospital, which I guess must have spontaneously combusted or been bombed by the Houthis despite the fact that Saada is their home province and is still firmly under their control. False flag! False flag! When that line of bullshit failed to stick, the Saudis then admitted they bombed the hospital, but blamed MSF (the rare “‘false flag’ to ‘stop hitting yourself’ switcheroo”) for providing their coalition with the wrong coordinates for the building. That’s their story, and they’re sticking to it. For now.
Fortunately there were no fatalities in this strike (thanks to sheer dumb luck, the first strike hit a part of the hospital that was empty at the time and gave people time to get out of the building before it was hit again), though six people were injured.
While we’re in Yemen, let’s check in on how the war is going (not well, if you were wondering). The fighting is now focused on the southwestern city of Taiz, Yemen’s third largest city after Sanaa (in Houthi-Saleh hands) and Aden (controlled by Hadi and the coalition). The International Red Cross/Red Crescent has said that the situation in Taiz is “catastrophic,” as the fighting has destroyed utilities and prevented any humanitarian aid from getting to people who need it.
Talks on an end to the fighting remain elusive, though there may finally be some by the end of the month, according to the UN. Previous talks have broken down without even really getting started, but with the ground war turning against the Houthis and with the Saudis possibly on the verge of taking things too far for the US (pending the Obama administration’s willingness to actually put some pressure on Riyadh), both sides now have more incentive to come to the table than they did even a few months ago.
If you’ve got a few dollars to spare, maybe think about sending them MSF’s way. They’ve had a pretty rough go of things lately and they do some really great work that is desperately needed in the places where they do it.
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