Coalition slams UN rights mission
‘UN report failed to mention Iran’s role in Yemen and the countless violations perpetrated by the Houthis, both against the Yemeni people and against Saudi Arabia,’ says Maliki
RIYADH: The Saudi-led coalition battling Yemeni rebels alongside government forces on Friday strongly criticised a UN human rights mission.
The coalition said any extension should be a matter for the Yemeni government, which already announced on Thursday that it was ending cooperation with the UN investigation into suspected war crimes during more than THREE years of Conlict.
But it again took strong issue with an Aug.28 report by the panel, which accused both government forces and Houthi rebels of violations.
In comments released to AFP through the Saudi information ministry, coalition spokesman Colonel Turki Al Maliki criticised the “inaccuracy of the information in the report, which was derived from non-governmental organisations and the testimonies of some persons whose circumstances are unknown.”
He said the report “failed to mention Iran’s role in Yemen, and the countless violations perpetrated by the Houthis, both against the Yemeni people and against the kingdom” of Saudi Arabia.
“These violations include targeting the kingdom using Iranian ballistic missiles — aimed at civilian and religious sites,” he added.
The coalition says the rebels have ired more than 200 missiles At SAUDI Arabia since it intervened in Yemen in March 2015 when President Abedrabbo Mansour HADI LED Into EXILE As they closed in on his last stronghold.
It accuses Iran of smuggling in the missiles through the rebel-held Red Sea port of Hodeida, the entry point for UN aid for millions of desperately needy civilians.
The UN special envoy to Yemen, Martin Grifiths, told Al Jazeera late on Thursday that he looked forward to “announcing the reopening of Sanaa airport next week.”
Earlier, the United Arab Emirates rejected the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) on the situation of human rights in Yemen, saying it had not provided an objective background of THE Conlict, INCLUDING THE Coup d’état, organised and carried out by the Houthis against the legitimate Yemeni government, who sought the assistance of friendly countries as allowed by the international laws.
Addressing an interactive discussion on the report, as part of the Human Rights Council’s 39th session, Obaid Salem Al Zaabi, UAE Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, expressed UAE’S support to the statements of the Arab Group and the Coalition countries and Its REJECTION of THE indings of THE Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen.
“The report put Houthi militias on an equal footing with other parties. It even used the term “de facto authorities” to describe them, which gives them some sort of legitimacy. This is untrue and unacceptable,” Al Zaabi said.
He also referred to the report detailing military operations, which falls outside the group’s jurisdictions as the Experts ARE not qualiied to Assess THE situation in Yemen from military and security perspectives. He also described the report as “unrealistic” because it is impossible for a 3-man group to assess a situation as complex as that of Yemen In Just ive months.
Zaabi noted that the Group of Experts based their investigations about human rights violations on their personal assessment, without consideration to the information provided by the Coalition on the violations committed by the Houthi coup rebels.
3 TERRORISTS KILLED
Separately, Saudi state media said that three Saudi wanted terrorists were killed in a shootout with security oficials In THE Eastern region of QATIF.