UN Investigating Saudi ’Crimes Against Humanity’ in Yemen

Local Editor

The top U.N. human rights official said his organization will investigate possible Saudi-led coalition war crimes and crimes against humanity in Yemen.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen may be responsible for "international crimes", a category that includes war crimes and crimes against humanity, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Friday.

"We are possibly looking at the commission of international crimes by members of the Coalition," Zeid said in a statement Friday.

International crimes includes war crimes, crimes against humanity and grave violations of human rights.

The U.N. top human rights official also condemned an airstrike in Yemen this week, which targeted a local market and killed at least 106 people, adding that the coalition was "responsible for twice as many civilian casualties as all other forces put together".

Saudi Arabia enjoys diplomatic backing and military help from the United States and other Western powers for its campaign in Yemen.

More than 8,000 people have been killed since the coalition campaign began a year ago in a bid to restore Saudi-allied ex-President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who was ousted by the Ansarullah revolutionaries, also known as Houthis.

Saudi airstrikes in Mustaba in northwest Yemen hit an outdoor market and killed more than 100 people according to a provincial health director and a U.N. official in Sanaa, making it one of the deadliest attacks in the war.

"These awful incidents continue to occur with unacceptable regularity. In addition, despite public promises to investigate such incidents, we have yet to see progress in any such investigations," Zeid said in his statement Friday.

Saudi Arabia began its deadly campaign against Yemen in late March 2015. The strikes were meant to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and restore power to fugitive former president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

About 8,300 people have been killed and over 16,000 injured since Riyadh launched the airstrikes. The Saudi aggression has also taken a heavy toll on Yemen’s facilities and infrastructure.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team