In May 2017, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller, a former FBI director, to take over the FBI's work. As Rosenstein later informed Congress, he elected to use a Special Counsel because of the ongoing concerns about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, and his own concerns about the capabilities of the acting Director of the FBI, Andrew McCabe, to carry out the investigation, but the lack of any Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorneys at that point meant that he would need to appoint someone else. Mueller was an appropriate choice in his view. According to its authorizing document, the investigation's scope included allegations of "links and/or coordination" between the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump campaign. Mueller was also mandated to pursue "any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation." The probe included a criminal investigation which looked into potential obstruction of justice charges against President Trump and members of his campaign or his administration.
On 8 and 9 May 2015, large-scale displacement was reported in Saada to neighbouring areas, after the Saudi-led military coalition declared the entire Saada governorate a "military zone" and started heavy airstrikes. Around 70,000 people, including 28,000 children, fled from the Governorate of Sa'ada. The Save the Children's Country Director in Yemen, Edward Santiago, said that many more were "largely unable to flee for safety because of the de facto blockade imposed by the coalition leading to severe fuel shortages". On 9 May 2015, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, Johannes van der Klaauw, condemned the air strikes on Saada city as being in breach of international humanitarian law.
More InfoOn 2 May 2015, the Yemenis Forum of Persons With Disability stated that 300 centres and organizations had been forced to stop operations following the intervention. The organization denounced the air and sea blockade that "increased the suffering of the disabled greatly". The same day Hussein al-Ezzi, the Houthi head of foreign relations, sent a letter addressed to Secretary General Ban seeking an end to the "unjustified Saudi aggression". He asked the UN to seek an end to what Houthis described as blatant aggression against the country.
More InfoIn January 2016 the Houthi-controlled Saada area, including medical facilities run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), received almost daily attacks. Michael Seawright, a Saada-based MSF project coordinator, said that they treated a high number of casualties, many with severe injuries. The Shiara hospital in Razeh District in Saada City, the only hospital with a trauma centre in the governorate of Saada and in most of northern Yemen, was hit on 10 January, and several people were killed, including medical personnel. MSF had been working in the facility since November 2015.
More InfoIran condemned intervention as "US-backed aggression". Iran's U.N. Ambassador Gholamali Khoshroo said that "those who violate international law, including international humanitarian law, should be held accountable for their acts and there should be no room for impunity." Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi expressed the Iraqi government's opposition to the intervention: "This (Yemen war) can engulf the whole region in another conflict. We don't need another sectarian war in the region." The Hezbollah secretary general criticized Saudi Arabia and its allies, saying "all invaders end up being defeated".
More InfoAccording to the OCHA's March 2019 report, 108,889 suspected cholera and acute watery diarrhea cases were reported between January and mid-March, with one third cases of children below 5 five years. Around 190 people died in the mentioned period. In August 2016, a Joint Incidents Assessment Team was formed by the coalition parties to investigate alleged laws of war violations. But the team failed to meet international standards regarding transparency, impartiality, and independence. It failed to investigate and apply human rights law in the civil war and instead acted as a shield against the parties accountable for the war.
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