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Saudi war machine kills 3 Yemeni civilians every day: Report

Tuesday, 19 March 2019 3:59 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 19 March 2019 7:16 PM ]

The file photo shows children collecting metal shards of a destroyed factory following a reported airstrike by Saudi Arabia in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, January 20, 2019. (By AFP)

Every day, three civilians are killed in Yemen amid the deadly campaign led by the regime in Riyadh against the impoverished country, says a report co-sponsored by aid group Oxfam.

Since mid-December 2018, persisting violence and war have killed one person every eight hours, according to the report, which was published on Tuesday.

The date is when a UN-sponsored ceasefire was agreed between Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement and Saudi-backed forces during talks in Sweden. The Stockholm negotiations were supposed to come up with a mechanism to end the war on Yemen that began in March 2015.

The report further said the number of fatalities had doubled in the provinces of Hajjah and Ta'izz.

Although a truce had reduced hostilities in Hudaydah, the report said, a third of over 230 civilians killed nationwide, including 56 children, were reported in that province.

Civilian death toll, which the UN reported was as high as 100 a week in 2018, has dropped but it remains unacceptably high following the ceasefire, the report said.

PressTV-‘Saudi planes launch 28 airstrikes amid Yemen talks’

The Saudi-led coalition’s warplanes launched over 28 airstrikes against various parts of Yemen on Thursday, as the two sides have convened in Sweden for peace talks.

Muhsin Siddiquey, Oxfam’s Yemen Country Director, said more Yemenis were also dying due to lack of food and basic necessities.

“Every day that passes without concrete progress towards peace, more Yemenis lose their lives and the suffering deepens for those struggling to find food and shelter amid the world’s worst humanitarian disaster.”

“The backers of the warring parties are complicit in this man-made crisis; we call on them to stop arming the belligerents. They and the rest of the international community need to do all they can to help bring about a lasting peace in Yemen.”

A number of Western countries, the United States and Britain in particular, supply the Saudi-led forces with advanced weapons and military equipment as well as logistical and intelligence assistance.

PressTV-UK arms cause ‘significant civilian' deaths in Yemen

UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia have caused "significant civilian" deaths in Yemen, a report finds.

Late February, media reports said the Australian government had provided $36 million to a Canberra weapons manufacturer to support the development of a system that has been sold to Saudi Arabia.

On Tuesday, Conor Costello, Oxfam Australia Yemen campaigns lead, spoke against exports of Australian arms to Saudi Arabia.

"Oxfam Australia is demanding a halt to Australian arms exports to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other parties to the Yemen conflict."

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched the war on Yemen with the goal of bringing a former regime that had been submissive to Riyadh back to power.

Riyadh is facing global criticism over the devastating campaign.