HRW, UN Slam Saudi War Crimes in Yemen

Local Editor

Human Rights Watch denounced Friday the Saudi-led aggression in Yemen, accusing it of reaching "dubious conclusions" in its post-air attack analysis and failing to properly investigate war crimes.

In a damning 90-page report released on Friday, the rights group accused the alliance's investigative body, the Joint Incidents Assessment Team [JIAT], of "absolving coalition members of legal responsibility in the vast majority of attacks".

"Many of the apparent laws-of-war violations committed by coalition forces show evidence of war crimes," said HRW in the report.

It further mentioned that "JIAT investigations show no apparent effort to investigate personal criminal responsibility for unlawful air attacks. This apparent attempt to shield parties to the conflict and individual military personnel from criminal liability is itself a violation of the laws of war."

These attacks have targeted weddings, hospitals as well as water and electricity plants, martyring and wounding thousands.

At least 10,000 people have been martyred since the start of the conflict, according to the UN. Analysts say that toll is likely to be higher.

Previous investigations by the Saudi-led alliance also absolved itself of any real responsibility, the report added.

The HRW said that JIAT often appeared to find that an air attack was lawful "solely because the coalition had identified a legitimate military target, but did not appear to consider whether the attack was lawfully proportionate or if precautions taken were adequate".

The rights group also said that JIAT downplayed air attacks on a residential complex in the port city of Mokha, which killed at martyring 65 people, saying the complex was "partly affected by unintentional bombing".

An attack on a water well in September 2016 was termed an "unintended mistake" by the JIAT.

An HRW investigation later found at least 11 bomb craters at the site where dozens of civilians were killed and wounded.

"For more than two years, the coalition has claimed that JIAT was credibly investigating allegedly unlawful air attacks, but the investigators were doing little more than covering up war crimes," said Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW Middle East director.

"Governments selling arms to Saudi Arabia should recognize that the coalition’s sham investigations do not protect them from being complicit in serious violations in Yemen."

The US, UK, Canada, France and Spain have all sold weapons to Saudi Arabia in recent years despite repeated petitions from human-rights groups.

The US has been the biggest supplier of military equipment to Riyadh, with more than $90bn of sales recorded between 2010 and 2015.

Meanwhile, the UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock condemned the Saudi-led coalition for carrying out airstrikes against civilians in Yemen.

Mark Lowcock said in a statement Friday that he echoed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' call for "an impartial, independent and prompt investigation into these most recent incidents."

He said an airstrike on Thursday that martyred at least 22 children and four women fleeing fighting in Al Durayhimi district in Hodeida governorate was the second time in two weeks that a coalition airstrike resulted in dozens of civilian casualties. An additional airstrike in Al Durayhimi on Thursday martyred four children, he said.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team