Mouood Mouood English Edition
Amnesty International criticizes Washington and London for supporting Riyadh’s aggression against Yemen, saying Saudi Arabia is targeting and killing civilians in the Arab state by weapons produced in the US.
Riyadh’s aggression against Yemen, “backed by the USA and the UK,” has brought about “the vast majority of civilian deaths and injuries,” said James Lynch, the group’s deputy Middle East and North Africa director, on Friday, adding that Saudi Arabia has employed “banned cluster munitions, which … have been found to be produced or designed in the USA.”
Lynch also lashed out at the international community for turning a blind eye to the rising number of civilian casualties in Yemen.
“It is time for the international community to stop turning its back on the victims of the crisis unfolding in Yemen and to take measures that will help end impunity, and send a clear message that perpetrators will be held to account,” he went on to say.
The rights activist further noted that “the first step towards that goal should be a thorough, impartial and independent investigation.”
In a statement, Amnesty International also called on the United Nations Human Rights Council to “establish an investigation into violations of international humanitarian law and gross human rights abuses” in the Arab state.
The Saudi regime as well as the supporters of Yemen’s fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi plot “to block the establishment of a UN investigation into the conflict,” the human rights watchdog added.
The criticisms come as Saudi Arabia continues its deadly military campaign against the Yemeni people.
Earlier on Friday, Saudi fighter jets launched eight airstrikes on the central Yemeni province of Ma’rib. There is still no word on the possible casualties of the raids.
Saudi airborne assaults also targeted positions in Ta’izz city in southwestern Yemen, leaving several people killed and injured.
The northwestern Yemeni province of Sa’ada was also pounded by Saudi artillery shells, the reports added.
On March 26, Saudi Arabia began its aggression against Yemen – without a UN mandate – in a bid to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and restore power to Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.
According to Amnesty International, the conflict has so far claimed the lives of over 2,100 civilians, including 400 children, and displaced around 1.4 million others.
