Iran: Saudi Arabia Violating Basic Human Rights Principles in Yemen
Local Editor
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Marzieh Afkham, strongly condemned the latest Saudi-led airstrike that hit a wedding party and took the lives of 131 civilians in Yemen’s province of Ta’izz, saying that basic human rights principles are repeatedly violated by Saudis in Yemen.
In a statement on Monday, Afkham denounced the Saudi-led attack on Mokha port city in Ta’izz, and called on the United Nations [UN] and relevant international bodies to deal with the catastrophic situation in Yemen.
She expressed deep condolences with the bereaved families of those killed after two Saudi-led strikes hit a wedding party in al-Wahga village.
She stressed that the ongoing airstrikes against civilian areas and targets, and the preventing of international organizations and institutes’ access to targeted areas for aid deliveries are in violation of "human rights principles and norms".
Furthermore, Afkham urged the UN to take necessary steps to put an end to the Saudi-led attacks and protect the lives of civilians, particularly women and children.
At least 131 civilians lost their lives and many more sustained injuries as Saudi-led fighter jets hit the wedding party in Mokha port city, situated 346 kilometers south of Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, on Monday.
Witnesses spoke of having seen mutilated bodies sprawled on the ground after the attack. Many of the dead appear to have been women and children.
Yet, the Saudi-led coalition that has been bombing in Yemen for six months denied responsibility for the attack.
The ’civilian’ death toll in Yemen has risen to more than 2,300 with more than 4,000 other civilians wounded in the fighting in the country that has raged for more than a year now, according to the UN recently this month [September]. Yet, other organizations put the death toll at much higher.
A Saudi-led coalition backed by the United States has been carrying out a military aggression on Yemen by launching airstrikes against the country since March 26. The airstrikes have not been authorized by the United Nations [UN].
