Five years ago today, the Saudi Arabia-led coalition conducted an airstrike on Saada. The investigation following failed attack proves that the coalition breaches deliberately International Humanitarian Law. The Laws of War have been created to minimize harm caused to civilians during armed conflicts. Under the Laws of War, all involved parties are obliged to abide by the law to prevent or minimize harm to civilians. However, according to the report by the Intercept, “Members of the Saudi-led coalition are ignoring their own procedures aimed at minimizing civilian casualties in Yemen, a U.S. intelligence report says.

“Specialists in international humanitarian law say the incident described in the document shows “clear violations” of the laws of war.”

Furthermore, the report states that, “The Saudis failed to corroborate the target with additional intelligence sources or weigh the lack of time-sensitivity with the decision to strike immediately.”

In this specific airstrike, the Saudi Arabia-led coalition targeted a nomadic family consisting of more than a dozen members, including nine children. At the time of the failed airstrike, the Maswadahs family members were sleeping in a tent donated by the charity organisation the Red Crescent. The family father, who at the time of the attack had been outside of the tent, describes the event with its horrifying details first hand. According to his statements, the war planes dropped the bomb 10 to 15 meters away from the tent. However, the official report states that the bomb fell 30 meters away from the intended target. The repercussions caused the tent to crumble down on the family.

Saudi officers monitoring drone feeds saw the Maswadahs’ tents, but had no “other intelligence information about the location” before ordering the strike. The brigadier general in charge was not on side to advise. “The absent general issued the order to strike the tents.”

Then, the Saudi Arabia-led “coalition aircraft released a single GBU-12 on the target,” notes the document, referring to a 500-pound, American-made precision-guided bomb.”

“The U.S. reportedly increased its role in selecting targets for coalition airstrikes soon after the May 14 attack.”

The civilian harm caused by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition bombings has never subsided. On the contrary, in 2018, massive attacks had been carried out on civilian objects in al Hudaydah. Throughout the war, civilians and civilian infrastructure have been targeted at a disproportionately higher level. The Yemen Data Project reported that more than 1/3 of targets in the airstrikes on Yemen were of civilian nature, 1/3 of military targets, and the remaining targets are unknown.

Read the original report by the Intercept here.

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