Amnesty calls for urgent probe into Saudi war on Yemen
Amnesty International has called for an immediate investigation into the Saudi aggression against Yemen which has claimed the lives of hundreds of civilians so far.
“The month-long campaign of airstrikes carried out by Saudi Arabia... has transformed many parts of Yemen into a dangerous place for civilians,” said Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme Said Boumedouha on Friday.
Boumedouha stated that the aggression has had a detrimental impact on the lives of the ordinary people in the violence-wracked country as many have been forced to leave their homes in an attempt to survive the Saudi strikes.
“Millions of people have been forced to live in a state of utter terror, afraid of being killed at home. Many feel they are left with no choice but to move away from their destroyed villages to an uncertain future,” he added.
The rights activist also expressed concern over “the mounting civilian toll” in the Saudi attacks, noting that most of the kingdom's airborne assaults “appear to have failed to take necessary precautions to minimize harm to civilians and damage to civilian objects.”
Saudi warplanes have repeatedly targeted airports, schools, universities, hospitals, petrol and electricity power stations, factories, telephone networks, food transport vehicles, mosques, and stadiums since the start of the military campaign against the Yemeni people.
“It is crucial that independent and impartial investigations are carried out to ascertain whether violations of international humanitarian law have been committed,” Boumedouha pointed out.
In a broadcast late on Tuesday, Saudi government spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri announced the termination of the first phase of the Saudi war on Yemen.
However, he added that the Saudi naval blockade on Yemen would stay in place and the Saudi forces would continue targeting the Houthi Ansarullah movement’s fighters in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia started its military aggression against Yemen on March 26 - without a UN mandate - in a bid to restore power to the fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is a close ally of Riyadh.
According to reports, nearly 1,000 people have been killed during the aggression.
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