Saudi Arabia Killed 204 Muslims in August

An injured Yemeni child

Survey released by the independent outfit, Muslim Lives Count, has revealed that Saudi Arabia killed at least 204 Muslims and injured 216 others in the month of August. All the kills occurred in the impoverished war torn Arab country,

Yemen, and were mostly civilians. 

Saudi Arabia and her allies began to wage war against Yemen in March 2015 in a bid to reinstate the secular western and Saudi backed government of Abdur Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

The results of the survey showed that of all entities involved in armed conflict across the Muslim world, Saudi Arabia killed the highest number of civilians followed by Taliban who were responsible for the deaths of 178 Muslim civilians. 

204 represent 16.6% of all Muslims killed in the month of August and 39.2% of all Muslim civilians killed in the month under review. This indicates a 65.7% increase in the fatalities caused by Saudi Arabia in Yemen compared to the month of July when the Kingdom killed 70 Muslims in its southern neighbor.

Yemeni graves

The deadliest Saudi attack on Yemen came on the 2^nd day of the month when Saudi jets bombed a hospital and a fishing harbor killing 55 people and injuring 130 others a lot of whom were in critical conditions.

On the 9^th of August, a Saudi aircraft bombed a school bus carrying children in a busy market killing all on board. 40 children along with 11 others were killed in the attack that drew international criticism, 79 other people were injured in the deadly attack. The bomb that was used to carry out the attack was later discovered to have been supplied by America. The bomb was a 227-Kilogram laser-guided Mark 82 bomb manufactured by the American arms maker, Lockheed Martin.

On 23^rd August, a Saudi airstrikes targeted yet another bus carrying children belonging to internally displaced families, 22 of the killed were children and 4 were women. Saudi airstrikes in Yemen on the same day killed 4 more children, 2 more women and 5 others.

August also saw an increased attack on fishing harbors by Saudi Arabia which lead to the death of at least 27 fishermen, an indication that the Saudi lead coalition intends for the population to starve. Fishermen were attacked at fishing harbors at least four times.

On 20^th June, Malaysian Minister of Defense, Muhammad Sabu, announced that Malaysia was pulling its soldiers out of Saudi Arabia in a bid to distance itself from the carnage in Yemen. He said in a statement, “Malaysia has always maintained its neutrality; it has never pursued an aggressive foreign policy”. 

Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman (left) and King Salman bin Abdul Aziz (right)

Muhammad Sabu also told law makers that the King Salman Center for International Peace would cease to function and would be absorbed by the Malaysian Institute of Defense and Security slightly above a year after it was launched by King Salman himself in Kuala Lumpur. Reasons were not given for the move. 

Saudi Arabia initially painted a picture of a fight between Sunnis and Shiites in Yemen, but the veil has fallen off as Yemenis as a people have voiced their anger at Saudi lead incursion on Yemen. Yemeni Muslims (according to estimates) are 70% Sunni and 30% Shiite but the armed forces consist of both ‘Sunnis’ and ‘Shiites’. 

The countries known to be part of the Saudi lead coalition are:Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Sudan, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain; Qatar later pulled out. A host of other countries and entities are also silently involved in the devastating war. 

The Saudi war on Yemen has destroyed most of the country’s water supply system leading to several cholera and diarrhea outbreaks which have claimed the lives of over 2, 200 civilians. 

Since the start of the war in March 2015, 600, 000 have been either killed or injured. The United Nations says a record 22.2 million Yemenis are in need of food aid, including 8.4 million threatened by severe hunger.