A swift halt to the fighting, which has dramatically escalated since a Saudi-led coalition began bombarding insurgents in March, was imperative for those caught up in the conflict, he said. The Kingdom has repeatedly denied it targeted civilian buildings.
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Amnesty International is calling for the five attacks highlighted in this briefing to be investigated independently and impartially and for those responsible to be held accountable.
The newest branch of Islamic State has exploited the chaos to launch spectacular attacks in Yemen on both the Shi’ite mosques of the Houthis and senior officials and troops loyal to the government.
“There’s an worldwide inclination toward preserving the Houthis and allowing them to continue having an active political role, especially in terms of… confronting terrorism”, the official said. Residents in the southern district of Qabatiya said 7 civilians were killed in an attack on a market. One school, attempting to educate approximately 1,200 pupils, endured four strikes in weeks.
“No evidence could be found in any of the five cases to suggest the schools had been used for military purposes”, it added.
At least 34% of Yemeni children have not returned to school since the conflict escalated in March, according to Unicef.
Mueen Abdulmalek, a member of the coalition-backed government’s delegation at peace talks, told AFP that the ceasefire will start at midnight local time (2100 GMT). Speaking to Amnesty a 12-year-old female student said they were living in “fear and terror”.
The rights group accused the coalition of violating worldwide law and disrupting the education of more than 6,500 children.
Warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition carried a number of air raids against Houthis-controlled positions in different areas of Taiz province, as fierce armed confrontations continued between the Houthis and government loyalists there, military sources said on condition of anonymity.
Bolstered by heavy weaponry and Gulf troops as well as Yemeni fighters trained in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the pro-government fighters have retaken Aden as well as four other southern provinces in July.
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“Under Article 6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which came into force in late 2014, a country is prohibited from authorizing an arms transfer if it has knowledge at the time of authorization that the arms would be used in the commission of attacks directed against civilian objects or civilians protected as such, or other war crimes as defined by global agreements to which it is a Party, ” the report warns. The coalition says it intervened in response to a request by Hadi.
