President Mahdi al-Mashat attends commemoration of 2016 Saudi massacre targeting funeral hall in Sana'a

President Mahdi al-Mashat attends commemoration of 2016 Saudi massacre targeting funeral hall in Sana'a

President of Yemen, Mahdi al-Mashat has on Saturday participated in a commemoration of the fifth anniversary of the Great Hall massacre, which was committed by the Saudi-led coalition in the capital Sana’a.

At the memorial event, Prime Minister, Abdulaziz bin Habtoor delivered a speech in which he saluted the participation of President al-Mashat and all those present in commemorating the anniversary of this massacre, which “represented a great tragedy for the country.”

“No one expected our enemies to reach this level of moral decadence by targeting a funeral ceremony in which the al-Rowaishan family was receiving condolences,” Dr. bin Habtoor said.

He affirmed that “the Yemeni people have held out for seven years under the leadership of the Leader of the Revolution Sayyid Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi, the Supreme Political Council led by President Mahdi al-Mashat and the members of the Council.

The Prime Minister explained that “the aim of commemorating this anniversary is to remember all the martyrs of the homeland.”

Dr. Bin Habtoor pointed out that “this anniversary comes in the midst of preparations to celebrate the anniversary of the Prophet’s birth – peace be upon him, his family, and companions – and within the Yemeni people’s celebrations of the revolutionary holidays of September 21 [the Ansarullah-led revolution of 2014], September 26 [North Yemeni Revolution and establishment of the republic], October 14 [South Yemeni Revolution against British colonialism] and November 30 [independence of South Yemen from British colonialism].”

The Great Hall Massacre took place on 8 October 2016, when Saudi airstrikes targeted a fully packed funeral event in Sana’a, murdering and injuring hundreds of unarmed civilians. Initially, the Saudi government denied responsibility, but eventually had to relent and admitted to having carried out the attack.