HRW: Saudi Coalition's Cluster Bombing of Sanaa Shows Aim to Kill Civilians

The Saudi-led coalition's "repeated use" of cluster bombs in Sanaa shows an intent to harm civilians, the HRW arms director said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Saudi-led coalition has been accused by Human Rights Watch of dropping cluster bombs in a residential area of Yemen’s capital city of Sanaa.

“The coalition’s repeated use of cluster bombs in the middle of a crowded city suggests an intent to harm civilians, which is a war crime. These outrageous attacks show the coalition seems less concerned than ever about sparing civilians from war’s horrors,” HRW Arms Director Steve Goose said in a statement.

Saudi-led coalition dropped vietnam-era cluster bombs on residential neighborhoods of Sanaa https://t.co/phvfH3r4AB pic.twitter.com/DKAHzT99zr

— Belkis Wille (@belkiswille) 7 января 2016

It is unclear if any civilians were affected by the bombs.

Since 2014, Yemen has been in a state of military conflict, between the government headed by Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and Houthi rebels.

In late March, a Saudi-led international coalition started carrying out airstrikes against Houthi positions at Hadi’s request.

Since the coalition launched its campaign, several rights groups including the Human Rights Watch documented its use of banned cluster munition in several attacks.