Rights organization calls for serious int’l action to stop war on Yemen

SANAA, July 16 (YPA) – The Yemen-based organization Mwatana for Human Rights has called on the international community to intervene seriously to stop the war on Yemen.

“The war in Yemen has undermined civilians’ lives for the fifth consecutive year, while the steps of deterrence or accountability are still scarce, which justifies the high rate of violations in the country,” said the organization.

In its annual report for 2018, Mwatana organization stated that it conducted 2,065 interviews with victims of the war and their relatives, eyewitnesses and medical and humanitarian workers, which showed many violations by all parties.

The organization noted that the continuation of the war has drowned civilians in suffering, while the international community is reluctant to take urgent measures, such as ending the military support for the aggression forces on Yemen.

According to the report, the organization had documented 74 cases of the obstruction of humanitarian aid access, which severely affects lives of citizens, as millions of civilians already live under the threat of famine.

The organization said it has documented nearly 150 airstrikes launched by Saudi-led coalition aircrafts on 11 provinces in 2018, which resulted in the killing of 375 civilians at least, including 165 children, and injuring of 427 others, including 172 children. The attacks hit residential neighborhoods, villages, roads, markets, commercial facilities, boats and civilian vehicles, and caused damage to private property and vital infrastructure.

In its report, the organization referred to the existence of extreme racism in distinguishing between travelers through the provinces on the basis of identity or via financial exploitation, at a time millions of Yemenis indeed struggle to feed themselves and their families.

The organization called on the international community to hold war criminals accountable, noting that “the delay of accountability encourages the actual impunity currently enjoyed by belligerents.”

YPA