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Activists: Coalition Fails to Investigate Airstrikes in Yemen


A youth throws a plank of wood away from a pile of rubble of a house destroyed during an airstrike carried out by the Saudi-led coalition in Faj Attan village, Sanaa, Yemen, May 7, 2015.
A youth throws a plank of wood away from a pile of rubble of a house destroyed during an airstrike carried out by the Saudi-led coalition in Faj Attan village, Sanaa, Yemen, May 7, 2015.

An international rights group accused the Saudi Arabia-led coalition of targeting civilians in Yemen, saying the kingdom and its supporters in the West have failed to provide answers over the killing of civilians in the impoverished country.

A report released by Human Rights Watch on Friday said Saudi fighter jets carried out at least 10 “apparently unlawful” airstrikes in Yemen between April and August 2015, killing 309 civilians and wounding another 414 people.

The report said neither Saudi Arabia nor the United States, which has provided intelligence and logistical assistance for the attacks, has launched an investigation into the civilian deaths in Yemen.

The New York-based organization said Saudi officials have not responded to repeated requests by the group for information about the 10 airstrikes.

The deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, Joe Stork, said the coalition was unwilling to conduct "even a single investigation of numerous potentially unlawful airstrikes."

“While the coalition may have sophisticated weaponry and U.S. support, its commitment to the laws of war is rudimentary at best,” Stork said.

The United Nations says about 5,700 people have been killed in the fighting, including more than 2,600 civilians. The United Nations said that about two-thirds of the civilian casualties were killed by airstrikes.

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