82 killed and 534 injured after reported Saudi-led airstrike hits funeral in Yemen

A bombardment carried out by Saudi-led coalition jets has rocked a funeral ceremony in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, killing or injuring 616 people. . . The Saudi-led coalition targeted a building hosting a Houthi funeral ceremony, killing a total of 82 people, local Health Minister Ghazi Ismail said during a press briefing. According to the official, 534 more have been wounded as a result. . . Ismail’s deputy, Abdul-Salam al-Madani, said that the bombardment was carried out by the Riyadh-led coalition jets. A missile tore through the hall of the building, leaving many dead and injured. . . Tensions in Yemen spiraled after President Ali Abdullah Saleh was deposed in 2012. In response, his Houthi supporters – reportedly aided by Iran – seized the capital city of Sanaa in 2014, before advancing to the south and seizing large parts of Yemen, forcing current Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi into exile. . . In March of 2015, the Saudi-led coalition began airstrikes in order to stop Houthi advances and restore Hadi to power. By late summer of that year, Saudi-led forces had launched a ground operation as well. . . One of the deadliest attacks occurred after the coalition’s aircraft attacked a crowded marketplace in Mastaba, a village in Yemen’s northern Hajja governorate in April. The UN children’s agency, UNICEF, put the death toll from that airstrike at 119, including 22 children. . . In August, at least 11 people were killed and 19 injured in an airstrike that targeted a hospital in northwestern Hajjah province, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Earlier that month, at least 10 children were killed and almost 30 injured at a school in northwest Yemen, MSF reported. That strike was also blamed on the Saudi-led coalition.