PHOTO: A boy walks through ruins of a school and bowling club hit by a Saudi-led coalition airstrike in Yemen’s capital Sana’a (Mohammed Huwais/AFP/Getty)
EA’s Ellis Palmer Babe writes: On Friday, a report in The Guardian on the conflict in Yemen claimed that more than one-third of all Saudi-led air raids have destroyed civilian locations. Citing what it labelled “the most comprehensive survey of the conflict”, the London-based newspaper alleged that the attacks have hit schools, hospitals, markets, mosques, and economic infrastructure.
The findings of the Yemen Data Project — a group of academics, human rights organizers, and activists — sharply diverge from the claims of the Saudi government, backed by its US and British allies, that Riyadh is seeking to alleviate civilian casualties. The Saudis have challenged the methodology behind the report, alleging that a building such as a school may now be in the hands of Yemeni insurgents, and have described the data as “vastly exaggerated”.
The Saudi-led coalition, which stands accused of contravening international humanitarian law, will now be under increased pressure in the UK and the US. Two British Parliamentary reports are calling for an end to UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia, and some American legislators are pressing for a similar step by Washington. The role of British military personnel attached to the Saudi command-and-control center could be scrutinized.
UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia have been worth more than £3.3bn since Riyadh’s aerial intervention in March 2015. Until an independent inquiry has been conducted, two British parliamentary committees have articulated the need for the suspension of such sales.
