UN says Saudi coalition killed 18 civilians in Yemen this week

The United Nations has accused the Saudi-led coalition of killing 18 civilians in an airstrike this week alone.

“At least 18 civilians in all, including ten children and two women, are believed to have died in the incident,” said Rupert Colville, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The airstrikes were executed at 8:30am on 18 July in the Ta’iz governorate, in the Al-Asheerah village, currently under control of the Houthi group.

According to the UN, there were no combatants in the area.

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Colville said: “[We] remind all parties to the conflict, including the coalition, of their duty to ensure full respect for international humanitarian law and to respect their obligations under international human rights law.”

The UN called upon the authorities to conduct an impartial investigation into the attack.

The Saudi-led coalition joined the Yemen war in March 2015 in an effort to reinstate President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and push back military advancements by the Iranian backed Houthis. There have been several reports by human rights groups of unlawful civilian casualties and war crimes as a result of the coalition’s airstrikes.