Weapons supplied by the United Kingdom and the United States to the Saudi-led coalition in war-torn Yemen killed at least 839 civilians and wounded 1,775 others in just over a year, a new report said Wednesday.
Faraan: The report by the Oxfam charity revealed that the Saudi-led coalition used weapons supplied solely by the UK and the US in hundreds of attacks targeting civilians in the Arab country between January 2021 and the end of February 2022.
The 43-page report authored by Martin Butcher, Oxfam’s policy advisor on arms and conflict, stated that an analysis of attacks showed the Saudi-led forces used Western-supplied weapons in hundreds of “relentless” attacks against civilian targets in Yemen during this 14-month period. Of all the attacks by the Saudi-led coalition during the 14-month period, airstrikes alone killed at least 87 civilians and wounded 136, according to the report.
The coalition attacks, 19 of which targeted medical institutions and ambulances, during this period included airstrikes by jet fighters as well as artillery, missile and drone attacks, in addition to casualties from land mines, road bombs and light arms. “It’s just so relentless,” Butcher said. “People just find it so hard to escape the violence and the killing.”
The report also found that in the attacks the coalition used western-made cluster munitions, “weapons banned by international convention and customary law.” Butcher called on Western governments, namely the US and the UK, to “immediately cease arms sales to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen,” and to promote a permanent cease-fire and negotiations for a long-term settlement through its position as a member of the UN Security Council.
“They’ve (the governments) really been not only arming Saudi Arabia but also very reluctant to use their position in the Security Council to push for peace,” he said.
