Alwaght-The US government should not sell aerial bombs to Saudi Arabia in the absence of serious investigations into alleged laws-of-war violations in Yemen, a human rights group says.
In a statement posted on its website, the New York-based Human Rights Watch noted that, On November 17, 2015, the United States Department of Defense announced that the State Department had approved a sale of US$1.29 billion worth of air-to-ground munitions such as laser-guided bombs and “general purpose” bombs with guidance systems.
“The US government is well aware of the Saudi-led coalition’s indiscriminate air attacks that have killed hundreds of civilians in Yemen since March,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director. “Providing the Saudis with more bombs under these circumstances is a recipe for greater civilian deaths, for which the US will be partially responsible.”
Saudi Arabia began a deadly military aggression against Yemen – without a UN mandate – on March 26 to stop advances of the Ansarullah movement which is backed by the country’s army and Popular Committees. The Saudi regime intends to restore fugitive former Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi to power .
The Saudi-led coalition claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah movement fighters, but the coalition warplanes are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructure including schools, fresh water facilities, hospitals, mosques etc.
Almost 7,500 people have been killed over an eight month period of the unabated Saudi aggression against the impoverished Arab state of Yemen.
Human Rights Watch has documented numerous airstrikes that unlawfully failed to discriminate between civilians and combatants or in places such as crowded markets in which there was no evident military target, causing hundreds of civilian casualties.
The rights group notes that the US has played a direct role in coordinating Saudi aggression on Yemen. The participation of US forces in specific attacks may make them responsible for possible laws-of-war violations by the coalition, adds Human Rights Watch.