Yemen’s deadly seas: Fishermen come under fire in Saudi war | World News, The Indian Express

Yemen’s deadly seas: Fishermen come under fire in Saudi war | World News, The Indian Express

By New York Times |Updated: December 18, 2018 1:01:45 pm

Yemen’s deadly seas: Fishermen come under fire in Saudi war

As outrage over the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul by Saudi operatives fused with concern about Yemen, a wave of disquiet swept Washington amid accusations that the US military could be complicit in war crimes.

Boats at a fishing port in Aden, Yemen, Oct. 10, 2018. Outrage over civilian deaths in Yemen has focused on airstrikes. But at sea, the Saudi-led coalition is suspected of attacking many fishing boats, killing dozens. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times)

Written by: Declan Walsh

The first sign of trouble was the helicopter that hovered over the small Yemeni fishing trawler as it cut across the Red Sea. Then a warship appeared, its guns pointed at the boat.

Bullets thumped into the water around the boat, the Afaq, then rippled through its flimsy wooden hull. One fisherman was shot in the eye, another in the head. The engine caught fire. Crew members leapt overboard, including Bashar Qasim, 11.

Moments earlier, the boy had been hauling nets from the stern. Now, he paddled for his life amid the flaming debris and floating corpses, with survivors clinging to empty water drums. As the Afaq sank, he said, the warship stopped firing.