UN: Possible war crimes committed in Yemen

By Fatih Hafiz Mehmet

ANKARA (AA) - Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Yemeni government and Houthis have violated international human rights laws in Yemen, the UN said on Tuesday.

A report by the Group of International and Regional Eminent Experts on Yemen, created by the UN Human Rights Council, released the details a host of possible war crimes committed by various parties to the conflict over the past five years.

The experts "found that the governments of Yemen and the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, as well as the Houthis and affiliated popular committees have enjoyed a 'pervasive lack of accountability' for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law."

The report also called for the immediate cessation of all acts of violence committed against civilians in violation of international human rights and international humanitarian law.

Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when the Iran-aligned Houthi group overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

The conflict escalated the following year when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies launched a massive air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains in Yemen and supporting the country’s pro-Saudi government.

More than 70,000 people have been killed in the raging conflict since 2016, according to UN estimates.