Targeting civilians has become a deliberate policy of the Saudi-led coalition
Abdel Bari Atwan
It is difficult to understand the logical and moral standards on which the spokesmen of the Saudi-UAE alliance rely on air strikes launched by their warplanes – the most modern and costly in the world and the exact killing – against civilian targets in Yemen. Since the war began four years ago, they have insisted that these raids are consistent with international humanitarian law and with the rules and rules of war.
Followed by Colonel Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the coalition government, on Monday when he emerged to confirm that the air strike of the coalition that targeted a bus of children in the province of Saada, killing 43 and wounding 63, was a legitimate military operation. He said that it was directed at individuals who had planned and carried out ballistic missile attacks against Jazan in south-western Saudi Arabia and were fully in line with international law.
It should be noted that this massacre came only a few days after another incident that killed 55 civilians and injured 170 people in air strikes in Hodeidah, which is currently targeting the ground, air and sea coalition and air attack. A futile attempt to control the city.
This means that the targeting of civilians has become a deliberate policy and not just the result of unintentional incidents.
Colonel Maleki should be asked whether the children who fired the missile that targeted Jazan were intercepted before landing. Did they release her from the bus that was taking them to a summer camp? If so, he might explain, as an eloquent military man, how it happened. He may be able to make a video recording of the launch, seeing that the coalition warplanes have equipment that can detect ants on the ground.
The ICRC confirmed that the bus was carrying children. With customary restraint, the point made it clear that international humanitarian law required the protection of civilians in times of war and conflict.
Since the war began, the coalition has said its warplanes and monitors are taking all necessary precautions to avoid civilian casualties. But the repeated massacres of civilians in Saada and Hodeidah indicate that this is not the case at all. There has been a long list of air raids targeting hospitals, markets, schools, funerals and wedding halls over the past four years.
These massacres are war crimes committed by warplanes by the United States, the leader of the free world who intervenes in our country to support democracy, justice and human rights. In this process, tens of thousands of people, either directly or through supporting entities such as the “coalition” that slaughters civilians in broad daylight, are sadly applauding some in the Arab world.
For a million times, we repeat that this war can not be solved by air, missiles and strikes against defenseless and destitute civilians. The world will not remain silent on these massacres forever. The coalition spokesmen will never convince anyone. The only solution to avoid worsening losses is still withdrawal as soon as possible.
