Originally appeared on The American Conservative.
The Saudi coalition bombed a vegetable market near Hodeidah earlier today and killed at least 21 people:
Death toll rises to 21 people and 10 others wounded in a masscare committed today by Saudi airstrikes on a local market in al-Masoudi area of Bait al-Faqieh district in #Hodeidah. #Yemen I know this place well & I didn't expect that Saudi jets will hit hat area #peace4Yemenpic.twitter.com/Na0tqKbQK1
— Fatik Al-Rodaini (@Fatikr) October 24, 2018
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Al-Hudaydah Additional photos of the massacre of USA – KSA aggression in the Masoudi area in Al-Hudaydah pic.twitter.com/KdJtipxL7O
— ?.???? ??????? (@abo_raghad20112) October 24, 2018
Terrible news coming from Hudeidah, west Yemen: at least 19 people were killed and ten injured in a Saudi strike that hit a veg souk in Bait al-Faqih district. https://t.co/D1JBRUPhFi
— Shuaib M. Almosawa (@Shuaibalmosawa) October 24, 2018
Graphic: video showing after math of Saudi strike on a veg souk in Bait al-Faqih district of Yemen's western Hudeidah province. Death toll now reportedly stands at 20https://t.co/zC4MZi6JuP
— Shuaib M. Almosawa (@Shuaibalmosawa) October 24, 2018
Attacks on food markets like this one are part of the coalition’s systematic campaign to target and destroy Yemen’s food production and distribution. The coalition has made a regular practice of targeting farms, fishing boats, and marketplaces as part of an effort to deprive an already malnourished population of food. There is no possible justification for targeting civilians as they were trying to obtain food from a local market. The slaughter of almost two dozen people is a reminder that Saudi coalition forces continue to hit civilian targets with great frequency, and civilians in and around Hodeidah are at great risk of being killed and wounded while the coalition’s attack on the port and its surroundings continues.
This latest massacre of civilians by coalition forces has been followed by news that the Hodeidah offensive is soon going to escalate:
The Saudi-led coalition has sent reinforcements to Yemen’s west coast ahead of a fresh assault on the rebel-held port city of Hodeida, Yemeni officials said Wednesday.
The city is a lifeline for international aid deliveries, and the battle to wrest it from the rebels has, like the rest of Yemen’s war, fallen into a stalemate.
Unless the U.S. cuts off support to the coalition and halts this offensive, there will be many more attacks on civilians like the airstrike on this vegetable market. Civilian casualties keep rising, and U.S. military assistance is just helping the coalition to blow up civilian targets. Congress needs to vote for H.Con.Res. 138 and S.J.Res. 54 to put a stop to this once and for all.
Daniel Larison is a senior editor at The American Conservative, where he also keeps a solo blog. He has been published in the New York Times Book Review, Dallas Morning News, Orthodox Life, Front Porch Republic, The American Scene, and Culture11, and is a columnist for The Week. He holds a PhD in history from the University of Chicago, and resides in Dallas. Follow him on Twitter. This article is reprinted from The American Conservative with permission.
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