Yemen: Coalition strike causes internet blackout across the country
Still image from video from the Ansarullah Media Center on January 21, 2022 showing the aftermath of a Saudi-led coalition night strike on a telecommunications center in the rebel-held port city of Hodeidah in Yemen, which triggered a nationwide internet blackout.
AFP - -
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
The Saudi-led coalition bombed Hodeidah, a town in western Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels, on the night of Thursday January 20 to Friday January 21, destroying a telecommunications center and causing an internet blackout throughout the country, an NGO said on Friday.
Advertising
Read more
The pro-government coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels said it was targeting a "
hub of piracy and organized crime
" in this vital port city for the war-torn country.
The organization NetBlocks, which specializes in monitoring the internet around the world, reported a "
collapse of internet connections in the country
" after the bombings.
AFP correspondents in Hodeidah and Sanaa confirmed the outage.
For its part, the Saudi state news agency said that the coalition had carried out "
targeted airstrikes to destroy the action capabilities of the Houthi militia in Hodeidah
".
⚠️ Confirmed: #Yemen is in the midst of a nation-scale Internet blackout following airstrike on telecom building in #Hudaydah;
real-time network data show collapse of connectivity on leading provider;
ongoing incident 📉 pic.twitter.com/ZM77WdUpwm
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) January 21, 2022
The Houthis said people were killed in the strike, but their statement could not immediately be confirmed.
An AFP correspondent in Hodeidah described a large-scale attack.
This comes after Houthi rebels hijacked a United Arab Emirates-flagged vessel in the Red Sea, after which the coalition warned it would bomb rebel-held ports.
► Also to listen:
Attack against the Emirates: "The Houthis have just sent a very clear signal"
On Monday, January 17, rebels claimed responsibility for a drone and missile attack that hit oil installations and the airport in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, killing three people and injuring six.
The Emirates are members of the Saudi-led coalition.
Deaths in a strike against a prison in the hands of the rebels
This Friday, an airstrike targeting a prison in the town of Saada, stronghold of the Houthi rebels in northern Yemen, left several dead and injured, the insurgents said on Friday after this attack confirmed by the Red Cross.
Three children and more than 60 adults seem to have been killed in these airstrikes, reports the humanitarian organization
Save The Children
, without providing details.
The attack was not immediately claimed, but the coalition regularly hits the insurgents.
The Houthis announced the attack on their Al-Massirah TV channel and broadcast footage showing buildings blown up with rescue teams pulling bodies from the rubble, some mutilated.
► Also to listen:
Attack against the Emirates: can the Yemeni Houthi rebels destabilize the region?
"
A detention center has been targeted in Saada and a team from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is on the ground to determine the number of dead and injured
," Bachir Omar told AFP. ICRC spokesperson in Yemen.
(and with
agencies
)
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Yemen
Saudi Arabia
Internet