According to media reports, the ill-fated wedding reception was held by a local man affiliated with the Houthi rebels, who are being targeted by Saudi-led airstrikes.The United Nations estimates that 135 people died in the attack.
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Coalition spokesman Brigadier-General Ahmed al-Asseri has denied the allegation and has told Reuters that, “there have been no air operations by the coalition in that area for three days”. Even UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, loathe to point the finger at anybody, conceded yesterday that while both sides in Yemen are guilty of targeting civilians, the Saudi airstrikes are causing many more casualties. “Violations of worldwide law should be investigated through prompt, effective, independent and impartial mechanisms to ensure accountability”, the United Nations statement added.
On Monday, the air raid struck two tents of a wedding party in Wahijah village, near the Red Sea port city of Mokha, Taiz province, killing at least 35 people, including women and children, according to local residents.
Rights groups have also said the Houthi rebels, which the coalition is fighting, have committed war crimes, on a significantly smaller scale.
The strikes, a senior government official said, were “a mistake”. They make up more than half of the number killed in the conflict.
This has also led to increased pressure for the USA and other western allies of Saudi Arabia, such as Britain, to urge the kingdom to resort to diplomatic measures in the wake of the constant airstrikes.
Officials from the Saudi-led coalition could not immediately be reached for comment.
A total of 2,355 civilians have meanwhile been killed in Yemen’s conflict since late March, and another 4,862 injured, Colville said. The insurgents had since previous year pushed into southern Yemen from the north, seizing the capital, Sanaa, and forcing President Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi to seek refuge in Riyadh.
The U.S. is the main arms supplier to the coalition.
The coalition launched air strikes in Yemen six months ago, after Mr Hadi was forced to flee overseas when the rebels advanced on the second city of Aden.
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The Houthis, part of a Shi’ite Muslim minority in Yemen, are backed by Shi’ite-dominated Iran, Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia’s regional power rival. The World Food Program has determined that 10 of the 22 provinces in Yemen are confronting emergency food insecurity levels on the brink of starvation.
