Somalia condemns killing of its citizens, asks Saudi coalition to investigate

Somalia has condemned the Friday helicopter gunship attack on Somalis in Hudaydah near Bab al-Mandab straits in the Gulf of Aden which resulted in the death of at least 42 people terming it horrific.

In separate statements, Prime Minister Hassan Khaire and foreign affairs minister Abdusalam Omer said the incident was horrific and called on the Saudi-led coalition to speedily investigate the matter.

“It is sad that innocent civilians were killed travelling off the coast of Yemen,” said Khaire. He instructed the foreign affairs ministry to move in to provide support and share information with families of the affected.

“We call on our partners in the Saudi-led coalition to investigate the raid,” Omer said in a tweet Saturday night.

The UN refugee body UNHCR in Yemen said it is providing medical support, food, financial and material assistance to survivors and that authorities in Yemen are screening the survivors before they are released.

The UN body says 39 of the survivors are receiving treatment in hospitals in Hudaydah.

Yemen is host to almost 280,000 refugees, of which more than 255,000 are from Somalia, according to the UNHCR.

The Saudi-led coalition has been heavily bombarding the coast around the port of Hudaydah where it accuses the Houthis of smuggling weapons in small boats.

The coalition began striking the rebels and their allies in March 2015, hoping to drive the rebels from the capital, Sanaa, and restore the internationally recognised government.