More than four years of war between the Iran-backed Houthis and a coalition led by Saudi Arabia has brought Yemen to its knees, with accusations of war crimes on all sides. Yemen faces an existential threat. Even so, the Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed that they were behind the drones that caused major devastation at two Saudi oil facilities.
The US authorities have directed the officials concerned to launch a war crime investigation into Saudi and Yemeni officials over a 2016 air attack that killed 137 civilians attending a family funeral. Under the powers of universal jurisdiction states can undertake inquiries and prosecutions for serious offences such as torture and war crimes even if they were carried out by foreign nationals abroad. The bombing was one of the most notorious atrocities of the Yemen war. Many of the victims were young children. A further 695 people were injured, many suffering severe burns as flames engulfed the building. No one has ever been investigated or charged for the incident.
Lawyers, led by Rodney Dixon QC and Hakan Camuz of the London law firm Stoke White solicitors, have identified four Saudi and Yemeni officials both military and governmental whom they allege are directly responsible for ordering the bombing even though it was known those attending were civilians. United States officials have said that Iran was responsible for the attacks; the most audacious and damaging blow to Saudi Arabia in the four and a half years of Yemen’s civil war, and have cast doubt on whether they were launched from Houthi territory in Yemen.
The Americans offered no evidence of Iranian involvement beyond satellite photos of the damage, whose meaning was unclear, and they did not say who was directly involved in carrying out the strikes or from where they were launched. The Trump administration has previously blamed Iran for the actions of the Houthis, and United Nations experts say that Iran has supplied the group with drones and missiles that have greatly expanded its offensive capacity. A Saudi military spokesman, Colonel Turki al-Malki, said at a news conference in Riyadh that Iranian weapons were used in the attacks.
Tensions between the United States and Iran have increased sharply since last year, when Mr. Trump withdrew from the 2015 deal limiting Iran’s nuclear program and reimposed economic sanctions against Iran. This spring, he imposed new sanctions, and Iran, which had continued to abide by the 2015 accord after the United States withdrawal, began stepping back from some of their obligations.
That would mean the United States does not suspect that Shiite militias in Iraq with ties to Iran are responsible for the attacks.
The US authorities have directed the officials concerned to launch a war crime investigation into Saudi and Yemeni officials over a 2016 air attack that killed 137 civilians attending a family funeral. Under the powers of universal jurisdiction states can undertake inquiries and prosecutions for serious offences such as torture and war crimes even if they were carried out by foreign nationals abroad. The bombing was one of the most notorious atrocities of the Yemen war. Many of the victims were young children. A further 695 people were injured, many suffering severe burns as flames engulfed the building. No one has ever been investigated or charged for the incident.
Lawyers, led by Rodney Dixon QC and Hakan Camuz of the London law firm Stoke White solicitors, have identified four Saudi and Yemeni officials both military and governmental whom they allege are directly responsible for ordering the bombing even though it was known those attending were civilians. United States officials have said that Iran was responsible for the attacks; the most audacious and damaging blow to Saudi Arabia in the four and a half years of Yemen’s civil war, and have cast doubt on whether they were launched from Houthi territory in Yemen.
The Americans offered no evidence of Iranian involvement beyond satellite photos of the damage, whose meaning was unclear, and they did not say who was directly involved in carrying out the strikes or from where they were launched. The Trump administration has previously blamed Iran for the actions of the Houthis, and United Nations experts say that Iran has supplied the group with drones and missiles that have greatly expanded its offensive capacity. A Saudi military spokesman, Colonel Turki al-Malki, said at a news conference in Riyadh that Iranian weapons were used in the attacks.
Tensions between the United States and Iran have increased sharply since last year, when Mr. Trump withdrew from the 2015 deal limiting Iran’s nuclear program and reimposed economic sanctions against Iran. This spring, he imposed new sanctions, and Iran, which had continued to abide by the 2015 accord after the United States withdrawal, began stepping back from some of their obligations.
That would mean the United States does not suspect that Shiite militias in Iraq with ties to Iran are responsible for the attacks.
Rayhan Ahmed Topader
London
