Saudi Arabia accused of rights abuses in Yemen civilian deaths
A UN report on human rights abuses related to foreign intervention in Yemen detailed the extensive civilian casualties inflicted by the Saudi-led coalition’s air attacks.
The United Nations panel examined 10 air attacks in 2017 that killed 157 people, and found that the targets included a migrant boat, a night market, five residential buildings, a motel, a vehicle and government forces, according to Al Jazeera.
The panel said it requested information from the Saudi-led coalition for the rationale behind such attacks, but did not receive a response. The attacks were carried out by precision-guided munitions, so it is likely these were the intended targets, the report pointed out.
“Even if in some cases, the Saudi-led coalition had targeted legitimate military objectives, the panel finds it highly unlikely that the IHL [International Humanitarian Law] principles of proportionality, and precautions in attack were met,” the report stated.
The report also cited a “widespread and systematic” pattern of “arbitrary arrests, deprivation of liberty and enforced disappearances”. It was particularly scathing about UAE camps, where it says torture has been taking place.
The panel, which investigated the cases of 12 inmates, referenced beatings, electrocution, constrained suspension, use of “the cage” — confinement in a cage in the sunlight — and denial of medical treatment.
In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition launched a large aerial campaign against Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement.
Since the beginning of the war, more than 10,000 people have been killed, the UN has previously said.