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U.S. assistance to the Saudi-led coalition’s war in Yemen has amounted to killing innocent Yemeni civilians, the New York Times argued in its newspaper.
The op-ed piece cited reports by the UN and international watchdog Human Rights Watch, which said the Saudi coalition is responsible of war crimes in Yemen.
The report also emphasized the role of the U.S. in not only selling weapons to the coalition but also providing military assistance.
"It’s time for the United States and its Western allies to stop selling arms or giving any military assistance to Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners," the newspaper wrote Tuesday.
The Saudi-led coalition said Tuesday it will respond to a UN report that suggested war crimes may have been committed in war-torn Yemen.The coalition “will take an appropriate stance on the report after a legal review of it,” the coalition said in a statement.UN experts earlier Tuesday said that individuals in the Yemeni government and coalition forces conducted attacks in Yemen that may amount to war crimes.Saudi Arabia says ballistic missile fired by Yemen's Houthis intercepted“The Group of Experts have reasonable grounds to believe that individuals in the Government of Yemen and the coalition may have conducted attacks in violation of the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution that may amount to war crimes,” said the 41-page report issued by the UN experts, which was mandated by UN Human Rights Council.Yemen has been wracked by conflict since 2014 when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country.The conflict escalated one year later when Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a wide-ranging military campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains in Yemen.Riyadh accuses the rebel group of serving as a proxy force for Shia Iran, Saudi Arabia’s arch-foe in the region.Saudi-led coalition air strikes in Yemen may amount to war crimes: UNThe coalition airstrikes, according to the report, caused “most direct civilian casualties after hitting residential areas, markets, funerals, weddings, detention facilities, civilian boats, and medical facilities.”Some 6,660 civilians were killed and 10,563 injured in the Yemeni conflict since March 2015, the UN Human Rights Office said and warned that the real figures are likely to be “significantly higher."The report also highlighted the crimes of Houthi forces, including killing of civilians and child recruitment.
Saudi-led coalition to respond to UN Yemen report
The majority of U.S. aid to coalition forces in Yemen have been in aerial combat, which received criticism when a U.S. made bomb was used to target a school bus, killing dozens of Yemeni children.
According to CNN, the weapon was a 500 pound laser guided MK-82 bomb made by Lockheed Martin, one of the top defense contractors in the U.S. The bomb was sold to Saudi Arabia in a State Department approved arms deal.
The violence in Yemen has devastated the country's infrastructure, including its health and sanitation systems, prompting the UN to describe the situation as “one of the worst humanitarian disasters of modern times”.
About 6,660 civilians have been killed and 10,563 injured in the Yemeni conflict since March 2015, according to the UN Human Rights Office.
Air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen's war have caused heavy civilian casualties at marketplaces, weddings and on fishing boats, some of which may amount to war crimes, United Nations human rights experts said on Tuesday.Saudi Arabia is leading a Western-backed alliance of Arab states trying to restore the internationally recognized government of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, ousted from the capital Sanaa by the Iran-aligned Houthis in 2015.Fighters of the Houthi movement have fired missiles into Saudi Arabia, blocked delivery of supplies to Taiz and shelled the strategic city from the highlands, the panel said. They have also committed torture, a war crime, it said.Video: Saudi-led coalition air strikes in Yemen may amount to war crimes: UNSaudi Arabia intercepts Houthi missile from YemenCoalition forces have imposed severe restrictions on Red Sea ports and Sanaa airport, depriving Yemenis of vital supplies which may also constitute international crimes, the independent experts said in their first report to the Human Rights Council.The coalition's additional inspection procedures at Hodeidah port have had a "chilling effect on commercial shipping", although no U.N. or coalition searches had discovered weapons being smuggled into Yemen where 8.4 million people are on the brink of famine, it said."Coalition air strikes have caused most of the documented civilian casualties. In the past three years, such air strikes have hit residential areas, markets, funerals, weddings, detention facilities, civilian boats and even medical facilities," the panel said.Saudi-led coalition to respond to UN Yemen reportIts investigation of 11 incidents raised "serious concerns about the targeting process applied by the coalition". Strikes that fail to spare people or structures protected by international humanitarian law would be unlawful violations."Individuals in the (Yemeni) government and the coalition, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, may have conducted attacks in violation of the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution that may amount to war crimes," the experts said, adding that they had compiled a confidential list of suspects.There was no immediate reaction from those governments, which received an advance copy of the report from the United Nations.Yemeni government, Houthi movement invited to Sept 6 peace talksAll sides have conscripted children between 11 and 17 years and used them to participate in the hostilities, also war crimes, the 41-page report said.It was released ahead of U.N. peace talks between the government and Houthis on Sept. 6 in Geneva.The panel, headed by Tunisian expert Kamel Jendoubi, neither specifically referred to the United States and Britain, which provide arms and intelligence to the Saudi-led alliance, nor did it point a finger at Iranian support to the Houthis.Yemen army establishes foothold in Houthi strongholdYemeni president leaves Egypt for Saudi capital
Saudi-led coalition air strikes in Yemen may amount to war crimes: UN
International organizations are not the only ones who have become irritated by the record of the coalition forces.
“Clearly, we’re concerned about civilian casualties, and they know about our concern,” Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian told the New York Times.
The Times said the next step for the U.S. should be to cut off aid to Saudi Arabia, a move that is not likely to happen.
Secretary of Defense James Mattis said Tuesday that while U.S. support to Saudi Arabia is not unconditional, it will continue to provide assistance to coalition forces fighting in Yemen.