MOSCOW (Sputnik) — An international rights watchdog on Tuesday accused Saudi Arabia of airstrikes in Yemen that claimed the lives of civilians, including minors, that could be classified as war crimes.
"The Saudi-led coalition have carried out five apparently unlawful airstrikes in Yemen since June 2017 that killed 26 children among the 39 civilian deaths, Human Rights Watch said today. The attacks, which struck four family homes and a grocery, in one case killing 14 members of the same family, caused indiscriminate loss of civilian life in violation of the laws of war. Such attacks carried out deliberately or recklessly are war crimes," the Human Rights Watch said in a statement.
The watchdog added that the inability of the Saudi-led coalition to fulfill its pledges for the protection of children during the conflict should be condemned by the UN agencies and an investigation into the violations of human rights should be launched.
People walk on a house rubble destroyed by a Saudi-led airstrike in Sanaa, #Yemen Via RT #900Days_ForgottenWar pic.twitter.com/tBco9TmSAP
— مُطلع ضد سلمان النجس (@TORiHtzedR0FqXd) 11 сентября 2017 г.
The Saudi-led coalition has been carrying airstrikes against the Yemeni Houthi rebels at the request of Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi since 2015. However, the activities of the coalition have been repeatedly criticized for targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure, such as the August 23 attack targeting a hotel near the Yemeni capital.
900 days of bombing & blockade
— Get up Stand up (@RiseUp75) 11 сентября 2017 г.
the #Yemen-i people organize a #tweetstorm to break the world's silence.
Please support#900Days_ForgottenWar pic.twitter.com/8NDzH4Ywrd
