Saudi Coalition Admits Error in Yemen Airstrike That Killed Dozens
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia sep 02: A Saudi-led coalition in Yemen acknowledged Saturday that an air attack last month that killed dozens of people, including children traveling on a bus, was unjustified, and it pledged to hold accountable anyone who contributed to the error.
The rare concession came after mounting international pressure, including from allies, to do more to limit civilian casualties in a 3½-year civil war in Yemen that has killed more than 10,000 people and pushed the already impoverished country to the brink of famine.
The Western-backed alliance fighting the Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen had said after the Aug. 9 airstrikes, at a market in Saada Province, that it had been targeting missile launchers that were used to attack southern Saudi Arabia a day earlier. The alliance accused the Houthis of using children as human shields.
The Joint Incident Assessment Team, an investigative body set up by the coalition, said Saturday that the strikes had been based on intelligence indicating the bus was carrying Houthi leaders, a legitimate military target, but that delays in executing the strike and receiving a no-strike order should be investigated further.
"There was a clear delay in preparing the fighter jet at the appropriate time and place,” which cost the coalition the chance “to target this bus as a military target in an open area in order to avoid such collateral damage,” the team’s legal adviser, Mansour Ahmed al-Mansour, told reporters in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.
“Coalition forces should immediately review the application of their rules of engagement to ensure compliance,” he added.
The coalition later announced that it accepted those findings and pledged to hold accountable anyone who was proved to have made a mistake.
“The Joint Forces Command of the coalition expresses regret over the mistakes, extends its sympathies, condolences and solidarity to the families of the victims,” said a statement carried by the Saudi state news agency SPA.
The coalition said it would coordinate with the Yemeni government to compensate victims and would review the rules of engagement to prevent such episodes in the future.
The United States military welcomed the decision and praised the coalition’s move “to take legal measures to ensure accountability” and improve procedures to avoid future tragedies.
The Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White commented Saturday on the issue in a series of messages posted to Twitter.
The #DoD welcomes the #Saudi-led #Coalition’s announcement of the investigation findings of the targeting incident of August 9, 2018.
— Dana W. White - DoD (@ChiefPentSpox) September 2, 2018
Last week, a United Nations panel of human rights experts said that some coalition airstrikes may constitute war crimes. In Washington, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said American support for the Saudi-led coalition was not unconditional, but suggested it would continue as the coalition works to reduce the civilian toll.
The war has garnered relatively little public attention in the West, but there are signs that may be changing, particularly because of the role Western governments play in supplying arms to the coalition countries.
Saudi Arabia is leading an alliance of Sunni Muslim Arab states trying to restore the internationally recognized government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who was ousted from the capital, Sana, by the Houthis in 2015.
The Houthis, who control the capital and most of the west of the country, regularly fire missiles on southern Saudi Arabia and occasionally aim for higher-value targets, such as Riyadh or facilities of the state oil company, Aramco.
The United Nations plans to convene talks in Geneva on Thursday, the first effort to negotiate the war in more than two years.
The war has devastated Yemen on several fronts, and scores of demonstrators in the southern city of Aden marched on Sunday against the deteriorating economic situation and weakening currency. The protesters blocked major roads and burned tires.
The Yemeni rial has lost more than half its value against the dollar since the start of the civil war. Soaring prices have put some basic commodities out of reach for many Yemenis, and the central bank has struggled to pay public sector salaries on which many depend as foreign exchange reserves dwindle.
The authorities have sought to boost liquidity by printing money, but the rial plunged to 350 to the dollar from 250 after the first batch of new notes was rolled out last year. It was trading at 440 to the dollar by the end of last year and crashed to around 500 in January.
Saudi Arabia has deposited $2 billion in Yemen’s central bank to shore up the rial, but the currency has since weakened further, to around 550 to the dollar.
Courtesy: nytimes.com
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
