Forces working for the internationally recognized government of Yemen claimed of being hit by airstrikes on 29 August 2019, while traveling towards the southern city of Aden. According to a government commander, the airstrike killed around 30 troops. No confirmation has been made on who carried out the attack, however, the commander claimed that a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates is the only warring side in Yemen's 4-year-old conflict that is equipped with airpower.
In a controversial decision in 2019, that was opposed by many career professionals, the U.S. secretary of state waived the inclusion of Saudi Arabia on its annual list of countries that recruit child soldiers, even though it met all the criteria to be included. Former deputy secretary of defense for the Middle East, Michael Mulroy, said, "this is a glaring example of an OPAC signatory not adhering to the stipulations of their signed commitments. As an international community, we are not demanding 100 percent compliance, and that needs to change."
More InfoIn a controversial decision in 2019, that was opposed by many career professionals, the U.S. secretary of state waived the inclusion of Saudi Arabia on its annual list of countries that recruit child soldiers, even though it met all the criteria to be included. Former deputy secretary of defense for the Middle East, Michael Mulroy, said, "this is a glaring example of an OPAC signatory not adhering to the stipulations of their signed commitments. As an international community, we are not demanding 100 percent compliance, and that needs to change."
More InfoOn 30 June HRW released a report stating that coalition airstrikes on the northern Yemeni city of Saada, a Houthi rebel stronghold, had killed dozens of civilians and wrecked homes and markets. The group said it had documented a dozen airstrikes on Saada that destroyed or damaged civilian homes, five markets, a school and a petrol station although there was no evidence of military use. "Saada City's streets are littered with bomb craters, destroyed buildings, and other evidence of coalition airstrikes," HRW's Sarah Leah Whitson said in the report and later added. "These attacks appear to be serious laws-of-war violations that need to be properly investigated."
More InfoOn 6 July airstrikes killed over 100 people including more than 30 civilians in Al Joob, Amran. The state-run news agency said that 40 had been killed in a raid on a livestock market in al-Foyoush. Local residents also reported 30 deaths in a raid they said apparently targeted a Houthi checkpoint on the main road between Aden and Lahj. They said 10 of the dead were Houthi fighters. MSF head of mission in Yemen said "It is unacceptable that airstrikes take place in highly concentrated civilian areas where people are gathering and going about their daily lives, especially at a time such as Ramadan."
More InfoOn 8 May 2015, a spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition declared the entire city of Sa'dah, with a population of around 50,000 people, a military target. According to Human Rights Watch: "This not only violated the laws-of-war prohibition against placing civilians at particular risk by treating a number of separate and distinct military objectives as a single military target, but possibly also the prohibition against making threats of violence whose purpose is to instill terror in the civilian population."
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