War
Crimes
Around
midday on March 15, fighter jets from a Saudi-led coalition bombed a
market in Mastaba, in Yemen’s northern province of Hajjah. The
latest count indicates that about 120 people were killed, including
more than 20 children, and 80 were wounded in the strikes — perhaps
the deadliest attack yet in a war that has killed more than 6,000
civilians. Local residents and health officials say the carnage was
so great in Mastaba that most of the bodies could hardly be
identified, and several were beyond recognition.
The Saudi
coalition consists of nine Arab states that have joined forces
against Houthi rebels who have taken over large parts of Yemen. While
U.S. fighter jets are not involved in the bombing campaign, the U.S.
is providing intelligence and other forms of assistance, including
weapons sales and aerial refueling of the Arab jets. After the latest
attack, a top United Nations official, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the
high commissioner for human rights, said the coalition might be
committing war crimes. While the horrific terrorist attacks
against civilians in Europe receive extensive media coverage, the
U.S.-supported bombings of civilians in Yemen get scant attention.
At the
roadside marketplace in Mastaba, journalist Mohammed Ali Kalfood
interviewed a number of survivors this weekend. The following is the
account of Khaled Hassan Mohammadi, 21, who sold sacks of flour at
the market and survived the attack. Mohammadi’s account has been
translated and condensed.
Full
Report:
https://theintercept.com/2016/03/22/families-were-blown-up-scenes-from-a-saudi-led-bombing-in-yemen/
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