While Backed by US, Saudi Coalition Accused of War Crime in Yemen

“After the third strike the entire building began to collapse on top of us,” Wajida Ahmed Najid, the wife of a plant employee who lived in one of the compounds targeted, told researchers. “Then I knew we needed to leave because it was not safe to stay. I grabbed my girls and we started running in the direction of the beach, but as we were running pieces of metal were flying everywhere and one hit Malak, my 9-year-old daughter. Thank God she is going to be okay. While we were running I saw bodies, seven of them, just lying on the ground, in pieces.”

HRW noted that the civilian death toll could be higher than 65, with many people still reported missing. In the following video, resident after resident testifies that there was no reason for the coalition to target them. “This is a dirty war,” said a resident of one of the buildings whose name is not revealed in the video. Warning: video contains disturbing images.

The Saudi-led military coalition includes the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, and Sudan. While the United States and United Kingdom both say they are not formally part of the coalition, they are both providing direct assistance—including logistics and intelligence—as well as serving as major weapons suppliers for the campaign.

Since the bombing campaign began nearly four months ago, the coalition has bombed homes, schools, warehouses storing humanitarian aid, and refugee camps, killing at least  1,693 civilians and wounding another 3,829, according to the estimates of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The bombings and naval blockade have touched off an ever-worsening humanitarian crisis as residents of the impoverished country are cut off from water, food, and medical aid.