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Three-and-a-half years of US orchestrated, Saudi/UAE aggression in Yemen were punctuated by repeated massacres of defenseless civilians, along with other horrendous human rights abuses.
Both sides committed war crimes. Ones by Houthi fighters pale in comparison to genocidal criminality by the Saudis and UAE -supported by the US, UK and France.
They include mass slaughter of civilians and vast destruction, torture at secret black sites, suffocating blockade, and naked aggression. They’re responsible for killing a nation, creating the world’s severest humanitarian crisis.
Most often the Saudis and UAE deny their horrific high crimes, at times later admitting involvement in incidents causing scores of casualties – calling premeditated mass murder “mistakes.”
On August 2, Saudi/UAE terror-bombing massacred over 55 civilians in Hodeidah, Yemen’s port city, over 100 others injured.
Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, president of the Houthis-led Revolutionary Committee, tweeted:
This incident “confirms for the thousand(th) time that the leaders of the aggression reject peace.”
After initially denying responsibility for terror-bombing a funeral on October 15, 2016, massacring at least 140 civilians, injuring over 500 others, Riyadh turned truth on its head, blaming the incident on “wrong information” – supplied by an unnamed source (likely US or UK intelligence), claiming the funeral was a legitimate target, a bald-faced lie.
The incident was a horrific war crime.
The war is a bonanza for the Western arms and munitions producers including US, France, Britain and Canada.
The US, UK and France are complicit in years of mass slaughter and destruction throughout the Middle East, supplying the most arms – the Saudis, Egypt and UAE the leading buyers.
Nearly half of US arms exports go to the region, supplying about one-third of all arms worldwide, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
America, Britain, France, and other EU nations supply 98% of weapons sold to the Saudis. Other regional countries buy most of their arms from the same sources.
Arms to the region are mostly for warmaking, not defense. The Middle East is by far the largest regional market for weapons – oil rich states buying huge amounts.
Billions of dollars Washington gives Israel annually almost entirely go for arms and related technology purchases – used for state-terror and aggression on Palestinians, along with terror-bombing Syrian targets.
In early August, Saudi warplanes terror-bombed a school bus in Houthi-controlled northern Saada province’s Dahyan city, killing dozens, including at least 29 young children under age-10, injuring a reported 77 others, according to the ICRC.
Sanaa-based Yemeni journalist Hussain al-Bukhaiti blasted Saudi/UAE terror-bombing saying:
“Since the beginning of this war, they have committed many crimes, and they only regret or release…a statement…if that crime has been covered widely (i)n the media.”
Initially the Saudis claimed Houthi officials were on the school bus – a bald-faced lie. In response to the school bus massacre, a pathetic Saudi state news agency statement said:
“The Joint Forces Command of the Coalition expresses regret over the mistakes, extends its sympathies, condolences and solidarity to the families of the victims.”
In response to the premeditated massacre, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pathetically called for an independent investigation – certain to whitewash the high crime if conducted.
He was silent about US orchestrated/Saudi-led naked aggression in Yemen, supporting Washington’s imperial agenda by failing to condemn it.
On Thursday, another Saudi-led terror-bombing incident massacred nearly two dozen children and four women in Ad Durayhimi, around 12 miles from Hodeidah.
Ad Durayhimi head of security Col. Omar al-Hashibari said Saudi-led warplanes continued flying over the attack site, preventing Yemeni Red Crescent paramedics from evacuating injured civilians.
A UAE statement falsely blamed Houthis for the atrocity. They continue repeatedly in Yemen – a genocidal war getting scant media attention.
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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected].
His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
