Four nuns among the dead in Yemen massacre

AN ELDERLY care home became a scene of bloodshed and horror on Friday (March 4) in Yemen when a group of gunmen burst in and began to slaughter innocent civilians.

Among the deceased were four Catholic nuns, as well as various other employees of the centre, including nurses, security guards and cleaning staff.

The incident took place in Aden, a large port city in the southwest of the country. According to officials and witnesses, several of the gunmen went into the building under the ruse that they were visiting their mothers. Once inside they began to handcuff victims, and then began to shoot them.

They then continued on their bloody spree, brutally murdering anyone they could find. One nun managed to survive by hiding inside a refrigerator after a guard urged her to run.

Around 80 residents live in the home, which is run by Missionaries of Charity, an organisation that was originally founded by Mother Teresa. This is not the first time that Missionaries of Charity nuns have been the victim of wanton violence in Yemen. In 1998, gunmen killed three nuns in the city of Hodeida.

Yemen has been effectively divided in two as the result of an ongoing civil war. Shiite rebels control the north of the country, whereas in the south, an internationally recognised government backed by Saudi Arabia is in charge, although the situation is extremely volatile.

At the moment it remains unclear exactly which group was behind Friday’s attack.