HRW on Yemen War: ‘Concerned Governments’ Should Seek Accountability

January 14 / Yamanyoon 

Human Rights Watch stated that the concerned governments in the Yemeni war should seek accountability for past and ongoing violations and immediately suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

“Human Rights Watch has documented 61 apparently unlawful Saudi-led coalition airstrikes, some of which may amount to war crimes. The coalition has also used internationally prohibited cluster munitions. Neither the US nor the UK have suspended arms sales to Saudi Arabia despite increasing evidence of their usage in the conflict and the coalition’s failure to credibly investigate alleged violations. In 2015, the US approved more than US$20 billion worth of weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, and the UK approved arms sales worth $4 billion,” the report said.

The Saudi Arabia-led coalition claim they are carrying out military operations, supported by the United States and United Kingdom, against Ansarullah forces and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh since March 2015. The coalition has unlawfully targeted homes, markets, hospitals, schools, civilian businesses, and mosques. As of October 10, 2016, at least 4,125 civilians had been killed and 6,711 wounded, the majority by coalition airstrikes, according to the United Nations human rights office.

Source: HRW