At least 6,660 civilians have been killed and 10,563 injured in the fighting, according to the recent report for the UN Human Rights Council. Thousands Yemeni people have died from preventable causes, including malnutrition, disease and poor health, BBC said. All parties to the war conflict may have committed war crimes, the panel of UN experts concluded.
The UN Human Rights Council report showed that in Yemen, fighting and a partial blockade by the coalition has also left 22 million people in need of humanitarian aid, created the world’s largest food security emergency, and led to a cholera outbreak that is thought to have affected 1.1 million people. The saddest thing is all sides in the war – the Yemeni army and its Saudi-led backers as well as the Iranian-supported Houthis rebels – may have committed war crimes.
UNHRC urges the UK and the US to stop giving weapons to Saudi Arabia for its campaign in Yemen amid evidence that Western bombs are being used in potential war crimes. According to the detailed report, both sides had conscripted child soldiers and carried out acts of torture as well as other human rights violations.
Since March 2015 when Saudis intervened in Yemen, at least 6,475 civilians have been killed but the real figure is likely to be significantly higher, note the experts. Victims and witnesses also described to the experts “persistent and pervasive aggressive behaviour”, including sexual violence perpetrated by a pro-government force known as the Security Belt and UAE personnel, according to the report.
The airstrikes carried out by the Saudi-led military coalition, may amount to war crimes, according to the UNHRC.
“Individuals in the 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,”
says the UN report.
