Saudi-led coalition admits "mistakes" in deadly Yemen airstrike
- 6 years ago
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has admitted an airstrike that hit a school bus last month, killing dozens of civilians, was unjustified.
For more on this and other news around the world we turn to our Ro Aram…
Aram… it's rare for the coalition it own up to its wrongdoings….
That's right Mark… it comes after mounting international pressure, including from the coalition's own western allies, to limit the number of civilian casualties in the Yemeni civil war.
Last month's attack on the school bus at a market in Saada province killed more than 50 people, most of the children.
The U.S.-backed alliance, at the time, said the airstrikes targeted missile launchers used to attack southern Saudi Arabia a day earlier, and accused the Houthis of using children as human shields.
But in a statement on Saturday, it admitted that it had made mistakes, saying it will hold anyone responsible for the mishap accountable.
The coalition's Joint Incidents Assessment Team noted that it had received intelligence that the bus was carrying Houthi leaders and was therefore a legitimate military target, but admitted that the location of the strike had led to collateral damage.
It added that delays in executing the strike and receiving a no-strike order should be further investigated.
The coalition also expressed regret and condolences to the families of the victims, saying it would work with the Yemeni government to compensate them.
The U.S. welcomed the statement, but human rights groups are not convinced and have accused the alliance of deliberately targeting civilians.
Human Rights Watch on Sunday called last month's school bus bombing an apparent war crime, urging countries to immediately stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia.
The conflict between the coalition and Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels has been going on for three-and-a-half years now and has claimed the lives of more than 10-thousand people.
For more on this and other news around the world we turn to our Ro Aram…
Aram… it's rare for the coalition it own up to its wrongdoings….
That's right Mark… it comes after mounting international pressure, including from the coalition's own western allies, to limit the number of civilian casualties in the Yemeni civil war.
Last month's attack on the school bus at a market in Saada province killed more than 50 people, most of the children.
The U.S.-backed alliance, at the time, said the airstrikes targeted missile launchers used to attack southern Saudi Arabia a day earlier, and accused the Houthis of using children as human shields.
But in a statement on Saturday, it admitted that it had made mistakes, saying it will hold anyone responsible for the mishap accountable.
The coalition's Joint Incidents Assessment Team noted that it had received intelligence that the bus was carrying Houthi leaders and was therefore a legitimate military target, but admitted that the location of the strike had led to collateral damage.
It added that delays in executing the strike and receiving a no-strike order should be further investigated.
The coalition also expressed regret and condolences to the families of the victims, saying it would work with the Yemeni government to compensate them.
The U.S. welcomed the statement, but human rights groups are not convinced and have accused the alliance of deliberately targeting civilians.
Human Rights Watch on Sunday called last month's school bus bombing an apparent war crime, urging countries to immediately stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia.
The conflict between the coalition and Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels has been going on for three-and-a-half years now and has claimed the lives of more than 10-thousand people.