U.S. air strikes on Thursday have paralyzed the Ras Isa fuel port in Yemen's Hodeidah, leaving at least 80 people dead and 171 others injured.
According to the Red Sea Ports Authority, the port, once used for Yemen's export of crude oil and import of derivative products of oil and gas, has been completely out of service, with many facilities like oil tanks, pipelines, machines and vehicles destroyed.
Staff working at the port condemned the strikes as targeting civilians.
"The Port of Ras Isa suffered brutal attacks. As we know, it is a civilian port. Look at the oil tank trucks, they belong to transport companies. There are no weapons and troops here. It is a civilian port," said Ibrahim Muqbil, director of the port.
"We started working at 08:30 p.m. on Thursday, and the air strikes started at 09:00 p.m. Bombs were dropped upon us when we were working. We are just civilians and port workers, rather than armed fighters. We were unarmed." said Suleiman Maqbouli, an employee of the Yemeni Oil Company.
The U.S. side said their strikes aimed to destroy the port so as to cut off the Houthi group's import of fuels and hit its economy.
In addition to causing casualties, the U.S. strikes are also likely to cause a fuel shortage in Yemen, exacerbating its humanitarian crisis.
US strikes kill at least 80, paralyze fuel port in Hodeidah
