Thursday, February 02, 2017

UN report states war crimes in Yemen.

February 1, 2017
By NY Staff

The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen and Houthi Shiite rebels (click here) might have committed war crimes in the conflict that is wracking the Middle East’s poorest nation with no end in sight, United Nations (UN) experts said in a new report.

The report to the UN security council, obtained on Monday by The Associated Press, said after nearly two years of conflict, Yemen is “in danger of fracturing beyond the point of no return.”

Another Syria on the way.

The experts said “an outright military victory by any one side is no longer a realistic possibility in the near term.”

The panel examined 10 coalition airstrikes targeting houses, markets, factories, a hospital and a funeral hall that led to at least 292 civilian fatalities, including at least 100 women and children. The experts said they are “almost certain” the coalition violated international humanitarian law requiring proportionality and precautions in attacks, and added that some of the airstrikes “may amount to war crimes.”

A call to Saudi Arabia’s UN Mission seeking comment was not answered....

...The panel said it has not seen sufficient evidence to confirm any direct large-scale supply of arms from Iran “although there are indicators that anti-tank guided weapons being supplied to the Houthi or Saleh forces are of Iranian manufacture.”...