HRW warns of Saudi forces abusing Yemeni civilians in al-Mahrah
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned of Saudi forces and their allies abusing Yemeni civilians in the eastern province of al-Mahrah since June 2019.
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In this Nov. 28, 2018 file photo, an armed Saudi soldier holds a walkie-talkie near Mukalla, Yemen, at an airport now serving as a military base for the United Arab Emirates.
“Saudi forces and their Yemeni allies’ serious abuses against local-Mahrah residents is another horror to add to the list of the Saudi-led coalition’s unlawful conduct in Yemen,” Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at HRW, said on Wednesday.
“Saudi Arabia is severely harming its reputation with Yemenis when it carries out these abusive practices and holds no one accountable for them,” he added.
According to HRW, the abuses include arbitrary arrests, torture, enforced disappearances, and illegal transfer of detainees to Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, leading rights group Amnesty International announced that the continued sales of weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arabia Emirates have intensified the war in Yemen.
In a report published on Monday on the eve of the fifth anniversary of Yemen war, the organization blamed the UAE for recklessly supplying militants in Yemen with advanced weaponry.
It also expressed concern about the war crimes being committed by the US-backed coalition, including the bombardment of homes, businesses, and hospitals.
The HRW further called on the US, France, Britain and other countries to immediately halt their supply of weapons to the aggressors.
Saudi Arabia launched its war on Yemen on March 26, 2015, to restore power to the country's former Riyadh-backed officials, who had fled the country amid a power struggle at home.
The war — which has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis — has been receiving sustained arms, intelligence, logistical, and political support from Washington and some of its allies, notably the United Kingdom.
The weapons supplied by the US and others have included precision ammunition that the Saudi-led coalition has been deploying indiscriminately against Yemen’s civilian-populated areas.
