Sunday, August 14, 2016

Saudi-led coalition denies targeting school in Yemen after 10 children killed

The Saudi-led coalition Sunday denied targeting a Yemeni school in air strikes that killed 10 children, instead saying it bombed a camp at which Iran-backed rebels train underage soldiers.


Doctors Without Borders, a Paris-based relief agency also known as MSF, said the children were killed Saturday in coalition air raids on a school in Haydan, a town in rebel-held Saada province.

The coalition of Arab states has been battling the Houthi rebels since 2015 after the insurgents seized Sanaa before expanding to other parts of the country.

Ten days ago it acknowledged "shortcomings" in two out of eight cases it has investigated of strikes on civilian targets in Yemen that the UN has condemned.

Coalition spokesman General Ahmed Assiri said the strikes hit a Houthi training camp, killing militia fighters including a leader identified as Yehya Munassar Abu Rabua.

"The site that was bombed... is a major training camp for militia," he told AFP. "Why would children be at a training camp?"

Yemen's government had confirmed to the coalition that "there is no school in this area," he said.

Assiri said MSF's toll "confirms the Houthis' practice of recruiting and subjecting children to terror."

"They... use them as scouts, guards, messengers and fighters," Assiri said, noting previous reports from Human Rights Watch on the rebels' use of underage recruits.

"When jets target training camps, they cannot distinguish between ages," he added.   
War crimes allegations

A confidential UN report uncovered last week concluded that the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen deliberately bombed a house, killing four children, and that Houthi rebels used civilians as shields to avoid attacks.

The actions amount to violations of international humanitarian law, according to the report by a panel of experts obtained by AFP on Thursday.

"The panel has documented violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law committed by the Houthi-Saleh forces, the Saudi Arabia-led coalition and forces affiliated to the legitimate government of Yemen," said the report presented to the Security Council.

The experts are conducting detailed investigations of four air strikes allegedly carried out by the Saudi coalition, three of which are still ongoing.

In the fourth case, six people including four children were killed when the coalition bombed a village house in southern Lahj province on May 25 using precision-guided munitions.

"It is almost certain that the civilian house was the deliberate target of the high explosive aircraft bombs," said the report.

The panel concluded that the coalition failed to take precautions and "thus violated IHL," international humanitarian law.
  [i24news.tv]
14/8/16
--
-
Related:

 ---

No comments :

Post a Comment

Only News

Featured Post

“The U.S. must stop supporting terrorists who are destroying Syria and her people" : US Congresswoman, Tulsi Gabbard

US Congresswoman, Tulsi Gabbard, recently visited Syria, and even met with President Bashar Al-Assad. She also visited the recently libe...

Blog Widget by LinkWithin