NEW YORK — On Monday, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Lise Grande, called for an “independent and impartial investigation” into the Saudi Arabia-led coalition’s attacks on Yemeni civilians. Grande stated that “what is happening in Yemen is unimaginable” and added that “the time has come to wake up to the terrible reality of the war and its human cost and the need to work together to end hostilities.” Grande cited last week’s attacks on a family home and later on a civilian vehicle fleeing fighting near the city of Dreihimi. Those two airstrikes, separated by a matter of hours, killed over 30 civilians, at least 24 of whom were children, some as young as three years old.
Despite the international outcry from UN officials and other public figures, the concern over the coalition’s extensive targeting of civilians is unlikely to influence Saudi Arabia’s actions. Indeed, just as Grande called for an independent investigation, Middle East Monitor {MEMO) reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) had recently vowed to continue targeting women and children throughout Yemen in order to “leave a big impact on the consciousness of Yemenis [for] generations.”
MBS allegedly made the comments earlier this month during a meeting with coalition military commanders following the coalition’s bombing of a school bus full of children in early August. That attack, which resulted in international condemnation and the abrupt end of the corporate media’s blackout of Yemen coverage, killed 40 children and 11 adults. The Saudi-led coalition later defended the attack as a “legitimate military operation.”
According to the “informed source” cited in the MEMO report, who chose to remain anonymous for fear of retribution, MBS also affirmed that he did “not care about international criticism” and further stated that the coalition would continue to carry out military operations on civilian targets because “we [Saudi Arabia] want their [Yemen’s] children, women and even their men to shiver whenever the name of Saudi Arabia is mentioned.”
Prior to becoming the Crown Prince of the Gulf Kingdom, MBS was the “mastermind” behind the Saudi coalition’s war in Yemen, a war which is supported by the United States and the United Kingdom, which aid the coalition by refueling jets, logistical assistance, and “intelligence sharing” used to determine strike targets. Since June, the U.S. has been intimately involved in “fine-tuning” the coalition’s strike list, which has included residential homes, school buses and other civilian targets. However, prior to the deepened U.S. role in choosing coalition targets, the Saudi-led coalition had repeatedly targeted civilian infrastructure throughout Yemen since 2015, having bombed funerals, weddings, schools, farms, hospitals and clinics.
President Donald Trump shows a chart highlighting arms sales to Saudi Arabia during a meeting with MBS. Evan Vucci | AP
In addition to its consistent targeting of civilian infrastructure, the Saudi-led coalition has imposed a blockade of independent Yemen, which continues despite having been “lifted” in name only. That blockade has pushed millions of Yemenis to the brink of starvation and has allowed history’s largest cholera epidemic to unfold. Currently, an estimated 66,000 children in Yemen die annually from preventable diseases like cholera owing to the impacts of the war and its associated blockade.
While Grande has recently called for an independent investigation into the genocidal war being waged against the Yemeni people, she certainly isn’t the first to do so, as prior calls for such investigations have largely gone nowhere and have had little to no impact on the coalition’s actions. Given MBS’ recently voiced determination to continue to wage total war against the women, children and men of Yemen, and given the U.S. and U.K.’s support of that endeavor, Grande’s calls for accountability will likely be met with inaction by the UN Security Council and the powerful nations supporting the coalition’s war in Yemen. Indeed, the United States, which continues to furnish the coalition with support as well as weapons and munitions, blocked a Senate vote last Wednesday that would have defunded the U.S.’ financial contribution to the war in Yemen.
Top Photo | Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, center, and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde, left, attend the opening ceremony of Future Investment Initiative Conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 24, 2017. Saudi Press Agency | AP
Whitney Webb is a staff writer for MintPress News and a contributor to Ben Swann’s Truth in Media. Her work has appeared on Global Research, the Ron Paul Institute and 21st Century Wire, among others. She has also made radio and TV appearances on RT and Sputnik. She currently lives with her family in southern Chile.
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