UN rights chief seeks international probe into Yemen violations

GENEVA: The United Nations called on Thursday for the creation of an independent international body to investigate an array of serious violations in war-torn Yemen.

In a new report, the UN laid out a long line of allegations of grave human rights abuses by all sides in Yemen’s bloody conflict, which has left nearly 4,000 civilians dead.

“Civilians in Yemen have suffered unbearably over the years from the effects of a number of simultaneous and overlapping armed conflicts,” UN rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein 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.” 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.