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At least four people have been confirmed dead after a medical clinic supported by Doctors Without Borders was bombed in Yemen, the organization has said.
Doctors Without Borders said its unclear who is responsible for the bombing, which severely damaged the Shiara Hospital in northern Yemen's Razeh district.
At least ten people were injured in the attack, with at least two Doctors Without Borders staff in a critical condition.
Often known by its French acronym MSF, Doctors Without Borders is one of the few international organizations providing medical aid in Yemen. The organization said its teams on the ground “struggle on a daily basis,”and their facilities have repeatedly been attacked.
“This is the third severe incident in an MSF facility in the last three months,” a Doctors Without Borders spokesperson said.
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#Yemen: We strongly condemn this and we reiterate to all parties to the conflict that patients & medical facilities must be respected. #IHL
— MSF International (@MSF)
January 10, 2016
The two previous bombings were carried out by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, according to Doctors Without Borders.
The organization's operations director Raquel Ayora said the latest bombing came despite Doctors Without Borders ensuring all major warring factions the facility was a humanitarian site.
“There is no way that anyone with the capacity to carry out an airstrike or launch a rocket would not have known that the Shiara Hospital was a functioning health facility providing critical services and support by MSF,” Ayora said.
She warned the bombing “confirms a worrying pattern of attacks to essential medical services.”
#Yemen: This is the 3rd severe incident in the last 3 months. Our teams struggle on a daily basis to ensure the respect of health facilities
— MSF International (@MSF)
January 10, 2016
“This will leave a very fragile population without healthcare for weeks,” she said.
Doctors Without Borders sites haven't just been bombed in Yemen. In October 2015, one of their hospitals in Afghanistan was pummeled by U.S. forces, leaving more than 40 people dead.
Doctors Without Borders has called for an international investigation into the U.S. attack, stating the bombing may constitute a war crime.
