YEMEN-SECURITY/TAIZ AFTERMATH Taiz locals describe "total destruction" after Yemeni city hit by air strike

Record ID: 142713

  • Title: YEMEN-SECURITY/TAIZ AFTERMATH Taiz locals describe "total destruction" after Yemeni city hit by air strike
  • Date: 27th July 2015
  • Summary: TAIZ, YEMEN (JULY 26, 2015) (REUTERS) ROAD SIGN READING (Arabic): "MOKA" MAN STANDING NEXT TO A DEMOLISHED HOME VARIOUS OF DESTROYED HOME BURNED CARS VARIOUS OF DAMAGED AND DESTROYED HOMES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF LOCAL ELECTRICITY COMPANY, KHALED RASHID, SAYING: "This residential town is for the employees of the Moka power station from which more than 63 people were martyred and 150 others were wounded. More than 10 of them are in critical condition in hospitals. As is clear, the destruction is total. More than 50 percent of the homes have been totally destroyed and the rest are about 70 percent damaged." (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MOKA RESIDENT, ARAFAT MOHAMMED, SAYING: "As you can see, the air strikes on the city led to damage and destruction and death and martyrs, including children and families and youths and until now there are bodies buried in the rubble that we have not been able to retrieve. There are no weapons here, there is nothing here inside this city, and they are all peaceful people and families and employees of the power station." BURNED CAR DEMOLISHED HOME MEN STANDING NEAR A DESTROYED HOME VARIOUS OF DAMAGED AND DESTROYED HOMES AND CARS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MOKA RESIDENT, NABIL ALI UTHMAN, SAYING: "The guys, they like to sit around the coffee shop because it's hot and the kids play around here. When the air strikes hit, it came from nowhere. We didn't know what had happened. Seven people died here and three died here and the total toll was around 70 or so killed." MEN STANDING AROUND WITH HOME FURNISHINGS STREWN AROUND THE GROUND SIGN READING (Arabic): "MOKA POWER STATION" MEN CARRYING HOME FURNITURE TO A LARGE VEHICLE MEN ASSESSING DAMAGE TO HOUSE VARIOUS OF CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUND
  • Embargoed: 11th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Yemen
  • Country: Yemen
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAC0LL5SZCGV8BMAP90QCUQH6HE
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Two days after a Saudi-led air strike hit a residential district in Yemen's central city of Taiz, residents are taking stock of the structural damage and human loss to their community.
    Saturday's (July 25) strike on the Moka area of the city killed 80 people and wounded more than 150, in an area inhabited mostly by engineers and workers of a power station and some displaced families.
    "This residential town is for the employees of the Moka power station from which more than 63 people were martyred and 150 others were wounded. More than 10 of them are in critical condition in hospitals. As is clear, the destruction is total. More than 50 percent of the homes have been totally destroyed and the rest are about 70 percent damaged," Khaled Rashid, the head of the local electricity company, told Reuters on Sunday (July 26).
    The level of damage to Moka was clearly evident on Sunday with multiple buildings completely destroyed and the streets littered with debris, burned out cars and household items.
    "As you can see, the air strikes on the city led to damage and destruction and death and martyrs, including children and families and youths and until now there are bodies buried in the rubble that we have not been able to retrieve. There are no weapons here, there is nothing here inside this city, and they are all peaceful people and families and employees of the power station," said Moka resident Arafat Mohammed.
    A coalition of Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia, has been bombarding Iran-allied Houthi forces in Yemen since late March in a bid to reinstate President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has fled to Riyadh.
    Saturday's air strikes hit late in the evening when most residents were out and about enjoying the cooler evening weather in a region of Yemen that can get scorching hot in the daytime.
    "The guys, they like to sit around the coffee shop because it's hot and the kids play around here. When the air strikes hit, it came from nowhere. We didn't know what had happened. Seven people died here and three died here and the total toll was around 70 or so killed," said Moka resident Nabil Ali Uthman.
    In the aftermath of the attack, Saudi-Arabia announced a five-day humanitarian ceasefire.
    The latest ceasefire announcement stated that coalition forces would stop all military activities but reserve the right to respond to violations by the Houthis and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
    However, the leader of Yemen's Houthi movement rejected the ceasefire, saying such a truce would benefit only Islamic State militants and al Qaeda, according to a message posted on the group's Twitter account.
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