Saudi coalition responsible for refugee boat attack, says UN

A report released by the United Nations blames the Saudi-led coalition for conducting a lethal raid killing 42 on a refugee boat, reported Al-Jazeera Arabic.

The attack helicopter assaulted a refugee boat carrying Somali refugees off the coast of Yemen in March, killing 42 and injuring 34.

The UN report confirmed that the Saudi-led coalition were the only forces involved in the Yemen civil war to have helicopters.

“This civilian vessel was almost certainly attacked using a 7.62mm calibre weapon from an armed utility helicopter,” the UN report said.

The Saudi-led coalition entered the Yemen civil war to reinstate President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and to push back military advancements for the Iranian-backed Houthi group towards southern Yemen.

Read: Over 20m Yemenis in need of humanitarian aid

The coalition has been blamed for war crimes in Yemen due to indiscriminate targeting practices. In July the coalition killed 18 civilians – including 10 children and two women – in one week.

The UN says that over 8,000 people have been killed since the start of the war in March 2015 and over 46,000 wounded.