The British-made missile used by the Saudi coalition to destroy a Yemeni ceramics factory producing only civilian goods in September was a violation of international humanitarian law and the laws of war and demands a ‘proper investigation’. This incident shows UK policy to be misleading and ineffective and the UK should suspend all sales of aerial munitions to the Saudi coalition members, according to HRW. The UK may also be in violation of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) regulating the international trade in conventional weapons. The US is still providing targeting intelligence as well as refueling aircraft and other logistical support.
HRW has slammed Saudi Arabia’s targeting of civilians in Yemen, saying the kingdom and its supporters in the West failed to provide answers over the killing of civilians in the impoverished country. They stated that the attacks against the civilians had been ‘deliberate and indiscriminate’ in areas under the control of the Houthi alliance, including Sana’a, Amran, Hajjah, Hodaydah and Ibb.
Mounting evidence suggests that UK-made missiles, sold to the Saudi Arabia, were used against civilian targets in Yemen, UK Foreign Office lawyers and diplomats have warned.
Amnesty and other NGOs, including HRW say that UK and US munitions are being used in the Saudi-coalition bombing campaign and that Britain is at risk of being charged with war crimes.
The humanitarian situation in Yemen is deteriorating ever since the Saudi coalition’s aggression commenced. Several refugee camps have been set up in the suburbs of Sana’a, for the people who have fled indiscriminate bombardment.
The blockade of Yemeni ports, the sealing of borders by Saudi security forces, and the humanitarian suffering of civilians are fueling the growth of already entrenched extremist movements and have allowed Al Qaeda to capture territory in Yemen, including a military base and a port.
The UN accused the Houthi alliance of blocking the delivery of humanitarian supplies for 200,000 residents besieged in Ta’izz.
UNICEF reported that more than 600 Yemeni children were killed since the March’15 and that more than 20 million Yemenis are in need of urgent humanitarian aid, including clean water, sanitation, and basic healthcare.
The Austrian Foreign Minister openly criticized Saudi Arabia over its dismal human rights records and its promotion of the Wahabbi ideology.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs said that those supporting the war against Yemen should know that Riyadh will not win the conflict and that “only the resistant Yemeni nation will finally emerge victorious.” He also warned against increasing terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda-linked militants operating in Yemen.
The liberation of Ta’izz could represent the real beginning of an end to this tragic war but the topography of Ta’izz has halted the advance of the Saudi coalition towards the city. Landmines were also planted by the Houthi alliances around Ta’izz and this has delayed and complicated the liberation of the city.
The UAE has secretly dispatched hundreds of Colombian mercenaries to Yemen. This foreign army was quietly built in the desert over the past five years, initially trained by Blackwater. The arrival of 450 troops – some even from Panama, Salvador and Chili – adds to the diversity of government armies, armed tribes, terrorist networks and Yemeni militias currently.
A Houthi alliance spokesman said that the army and popular forces are advancing deep inside Saudi Arabia and capturing more military bases in the Southern parts of the kingdom. He added: “The Yemeni forces have managed to inflict heavy losses on the Saudi enemy inside Saudi Arabia.”
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Written by Akram Abu Abs exclusively for SouthFront
- November 25, the Houthi alliance pounded Al-Fariza military base in Jizan, and Alib and al-Ash military bases in Najran province. They also hit the military hardware of Saudi forces in al-Rabou’a military zone and seized control of al-Shabaka military base in Al-Sharafa , Najran province. Three Abrams tanks were also seized from the Al-Shabaka military base.
- November 25, a seventh Saudi coalition naval vessel was destroyed off the western coast of Yemen.
- November 25, Houthi alliance fighters stormed the town of Dabab – a crucial supply route for the Saudi coalition forces in Ta’izz province and securing Ta’izz would enable the march to Sana’a. Two civilians were among 47 killed in the fighting.
- November 25, dozens of Saudi mercenaries were killed by the Houthi alliance in a retaliatory attack in the province of Ta’izz. The districts of Al-Kasarah and Ra’as al-Najd in Ta’izz were also liberated from Saudi coalition forces and a Saudi coalition tank was destroyed in al-Omari, Ta’izz. Two civilians were killed in a Saudi coalition airstrike on al-Rahedah district, Ta’izz. Saudi coalition fighter jets mistakenly bombarded their own allied militants in Shabwah province, killing 18. In a similar incident, their allied militants in Ma’rib province were targeted four times.
- November 27, many Saudi soldiers were killed and others wounded in artillery shelling by the Houthi alliance on al-Faridha military site in the Saudi border province of Jizan. Saudi coalition airstrikes targeted Nahoqa military site in Najran after it was taken over by the Houthi alliance. The Saudi coalition airstrikes targeted the market and al-Mashgah and al-Hakeel areas of Serwah, Mareb province.
- November 27, Saudi coalition weapon stores and operations room in the third military region in Mareb province were targeted by Houthi alliance artillery, causing several dead and wounded among the mercenaries.
- November 28, the Houthi alliance destroyed three Saudi military vehicles in al-Dhubat Rabuah district, Assir.
- November 29, Houthi alliance forces continued their advance and took control of Malhama, al-Radif and al-Mamoud military bases in Jizan province and also captured al-Rabou’a military base in Asir province and Nahouqa military base in Najran province. They also seized large quantities of weapons and military equipment.
- November 29, Saudi coalition raided a mountainous water site in Misrakh, Ta’izz province, killing 11 women and injuring others. This is the second massacre the Saudi coalition within two days after the raids on the Mawza area, killing 12 and wounding 13 civilians. Separate areas in Khadir district were also targeted, resulting in damage to houses and private and public property.
- November 30, Houthi alliance forces took control of a military camp in the southwest of the kingdom, destroying six military vehicles there. Three Saudi guards were killed in Jizan region and four Saudi military camps in Jizan was taken 10 armored vehicles destroyed. The Malhame military site in Jizan was also targeted, killing and injuring a number of Saudi coalition soldiers.
- December 1, at least three civilians were killed and several others wounded by Saudi coalition fighter jets targeting al-Silw in Ta’izz province. Raids against two Yemeni military bases in Sana’a reported no casualties. Similar air raids on various areas in Yemen left at least eight civilians dead and several others injured. Attacks on al-Talah, Sa’ada, killed four women and left eight others injured, and a similar attack on al-Misrakh, Ta’izz killed two children and injured several others.
- December 1, a Saudi border guard was killed by shelling from Yemen in Saudi Arabia’s Jizan and the Houthi alliance took control of several more military bases in the Saudi Province of Najran after they captured several strategic military centers in three Saudi provinces on Sunday night. Two Abrams tanks, three, 3 Bradley armored vehicles and 3 bulldozers were destroyed.
- December 2, al-Qaeda militants captured two towns in Abyan province they launched a surprise attack on Zinjibar and Jaar and overran the towns. Despite this loss, the Houthi alliance continues to score significant gains in its retaliatory offensives against Saudi Arabia’s invasion of the country.
Many say the Saudis are gradually realizing that they underestimated the Yemeni forces’ capability in defending their territory.
With al-Qaeda gains in the east, Houthi alliance gains in south-western Saudi Arabia and the Saudi coalition caught up in quagmire in the approaches to Ta’izz in a hope of taking Sana’a, the only hope for Yemen is a negotiated settlement.
