Tuesday, July 28, 2015
While Backed by US, Saudi
Coalition Accused of War Crime in Yemen
New report from Human Rights Watch investigates bombings that
killed at least 65 civilians in the city of Mokha on Friday
A residence that houses workers of the Mokha Steam Power Plant
and their families after it was destroyed by Saudi-led coalition bombings on
24, 2015. (Photo: Ole Solvang/Human Rights Watch)
The Saudi Arabia-led military coalition—which is backed by the
United States—committed an "apparent war crime" when they bombed
residential housing in the Yemeni city of Mokha on Friday, killing at least 65
civilians and wounding dozens more, Human Rights Watch declared
on Monday.
"The Saudi-led coalition repeatedly bombed company housing
with fatal results for several dozen civilians," said Ole Solvang, senior
emergencies researcher for HRW, of the attack that claimed ten children among
its victims. "With no evident military target, this attack appears to be a
war crime."
However, HRW said there are no signs that Yemen's government or
any coalition partners are investigating the attack, which struck residential
compounds that house family and workers of the Mokha Steam Power Plant on
Friday.
"Again and again, we see coalition airstrikes killing large
numbers of civilians, but no signs of any investigation into possible
violations," said Solvang.
Researchers with the rights group who visited the aftermath of
the attack saw craters and destroyed buildings that indicate multiple bombs
"had struck the plant’s main residential compound, which housed at least
200 families." Another bomb tore through a separate compound that also
housed temporary workers.
"After the third strike the entire building began to
collapse on top of us," Wajida Ahmed Najid, the wife of a plant employee
who lived in one of the compounds targeted, told researchers. "Then I knew
we needed to leave because it was not safe to stay. I grabbed my girls and we
started running in the direction of the beach, but as we were running pieces of
metal were flying everywhere and one hit Malak, my 9-year-old daughter. Thank
God she is going to be okay. While we were running I saw bodies, seven of them,
just lying on the ground, in pieces."
HRW noted that the civilian death toll could be higher than 65,
with many people still reported missing. In the following video, resident after
resident testifies that there was no reason for the coalition to target them.
"This is a dirty war," said a resident of one of the buildings whose
name is not revealed in the video. Warning: video contains disturbing images.
The Saudi-led military coalition includes the United Arab
Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, and Sudan. While the
United States and United Kingdom both say they are not formally part of the
coalition, they are both providing direct assistance—including logistics and
intelligence—as well as serving as major weapons suppliers for the campaign.
Since the bombing campaign began nearly four months ago, the
coalition has bombed homes, schools, warehouses storing humanitarian aid, and
refugee camps, killing at least 1,693 civilians and wounding another
3,829, according to
the estimates of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The
bombings and naval blockade have touched off an ever-worsening humanitarian
crisis as residents of the impoverished country are cut off
from water, food, and medical aid.
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to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD
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"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives."
Eugene Victor Debs
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