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UN Calls for Intl Probe of Violations in Yemen

UN Calls for Intl Probe of Violations in Yemen
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Airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen are responsible for the largest part of the 3,799 civilians martyred so far and it has committed other violations that may contravene international law, the UN human rights office said Thursday.

UN Calls for Intl Probe of Violations in Yemen

In a statement, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein called for an international investigation into the grave violations, saying a national commission had not worked in pursuing perpetrators.

Zeid's Geneva office on Thursday released a 22-page report chronicling abuses in the war.

"Civilians in Yemen have suffered unbearably over the years from the effects of a number of simultaneous and overlapping armed conflicts," the UN rights chief said in a statement.

"And they continue to suffer, absent any form of accountability and justice, while those responsible for the violations and abuses against them enjoy impunity," he said.

"Such a manifestly protracted unjust situation must no longer be tolerated by the international community," he insisted, demanding the creation of "an international, independent investigative body".

The report listed numerous attacks on residential areas, market places, hospitals and schools, pointing out that in several cases investigators were "unable to identify the presence of possible military objectives."

"The cases monitored by the Office indicate that airstrikes were the single largest cause of casualties," the UN report said. "The prolonged duration of the conflict has strongly heightened the disastrous risk of a systemic collapse of Yemen."

It also condemned targeted killings -- including of at least six journalists -- the use of cluster bombs, landmines, and sniper attacks, and the rampant use of child soldiers.

The UN report also denounced the recruitment of child soldiers in Yemen, suspected US drone strikes and attacks on rights defenders.

Zeid's office said an estimated 3,799 civilians had been martyred since the escalation of the conflict. The UN and rights groups estimate at least 9,000 people overall had been martyred.

"The international community ... has a legal and moral duty to take urgent steps to alleviate the appalling levels of human despair," the UN rights office said.

Separately, the UN human rights office said the Saudi military is using cluster bombs against residential areas in Yemen in violation of international law blaming the Al Saud regime for most of the civilian casualties in its impoverished southern neighbor.

The World Health Organization said more than 6,600 people had been killed in all, counting combatants, while more than 33,000 had been injured.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

 

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