Press TV – 2015-05-31 20:47:23
http://presstv.com/Detail/2015/05/31/413654/Saudi-Arabia-Yemen-HRW-cluster-bombs
Cluster Bombs Following Nukes in Yemen
Saudis Still Using Cluster Bombs against Yemen: HRW
Press TV
TEHRAN (May 31, 2015) — Human Rights Watch (HRW) says evidence shows Saudi Arabia has been pounding neighboring Yemen with internationally banned cluster bombs, warning that such attacks are “harming civilians.”
In a report released on Sunday after a visit by HRW officials to Yemen’s northern province of Sa’ada, the New York-based rights organization said the cluster bombs have targeted civilians and residential areas. The report said three types of cluster bombs have been used in the attacks.
The rights body also posted photos showing remnants of cluster munitions and unexploded submunitions found in several areas, including al-Nushoor and al-Maqash in Sa’ada.
“These weapons can’t distinguish military targets from civilians, and their unexploded submunitions threaten civilians, especially children, even long after the fighting,” said Ole Solvang, a senior researcher at the emergency division of the HRW.
A Yemeni man from the area of Marran in Sa’ada told the HRW that he was injured in a cluster bomb attack, explaining that the weapon “first explodes in the air, and then explodes many times on the ground.”
19 Killed, Dozens Injured in Saudi Airstrikes against Yemen
PressTV
(May 29, 2015) — At least 19 people have lost their lives in the latest wave of Saudi airstrikes against the people of Yemen. Some 12 people, mostly women and children, were killed and about 80 others injured on Friday after Saudi fighter jets targeted a residential area and a military base in the northwestern province of Hajjah, the Yemeni al-Masirah TV network reported.
Also on Friday, Saudi warplanes attacked a hospital and a house in the Bani Hashish district of the western province of Sana’a, killing seven people and injuring several others. An unspecified number of people were also killed and wounded in airstrikes on the Dar-al-Sharif area of the Tayal Khawlan district in Sana’a Province.
Two Saudi air raids were also reported at the entrance of the central province of Ma’rib with three others in the al-Arish district of the southern province of Aden on Friday, according to al-Masirah. Casualties were also reported as Saudi jets pounded residential areas in the al-Ashraf district of Ma’rib, al-Masirah added.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese al-Mayadeen TV reported that the Zabouh military base in the Yemeni capital city of Sana’a was also targeted by Saudi warplanes. Saudi jets also attacked a house in the Razeh district of the northwestern province of Sa’ada.
According to figures released by the United Nations, about 2,000 people have been killed and over 500,000 displaced as a result of the conflict in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia has been conducting military strikes against Yemen since March 26 without a UN mandate.
Fresh Saudi Air Raids Leave 7 Dead in Yemen
PressTV
(May 30, 2015) — At least seven people have been killed and several others wounded in the latest wave of airstrikes conducted by Saudi Arabia against Yemen. The casualties came after Saudi warplanes bombarded a hospital in the Bani Hashish district of Yemen’s western province of Sana’a on Saturday.
Saudi fighter jets also demolished two houses in the Saqin district of Sa’ada Province. Saudi warplanes further pounded residential areas in the districts of al-Hamidan and Maran in Sa’ada, according to the Yemeni al-Masirah TV network.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese TV channel al-Manar reported the bombing of the building of a technical vocational center in Heymeh in Sana’a Province. Al-Manar further reported that Saudi jets fired more than 100 missiles into residential border regions of al-Malahiz, al-Manzaleh and al-Hesameh in Sa’ada.
According to the Arabic-language news website, Yemen Now, Saudi warplanes repeatedly attacked premises belonging to Yemen’s Air Force in the northern part of Sana’a overnight. Al-Deylami air base in Sana’a was also hit by four missiles, causing an explosion in a warehouse.
Meanwhile, a government compound in Yemen’s Western Hudaydah province was targeted by Saudi airstrikes. Al-Anad military base in the impoverished country’s southern Lahij Province was also bombarded six times by Saudi planes.
In a separate development, there are reports of the advances of popular committees, backed by Ansarullah fighters, suggesting that they inflicted heavy losses on al-Qaeda militants in the central Shabwah Province.
According to the Yemen Saba Net news agency the Yemeni army has made gains against terrorists in the southwestern Tai’zz Province.
Saudi Arabia has been conducting military strikes against Yemen since March 26 without a UN mandate. About 2,000 people have been killed and over 500,000 displaced as a result of the conflict in the Arab country since March 19, according to the UN.
The photo released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) shows five ZP-39 submunitions in the village of Baqim in Yemen’s northern governorate of Sa’ada, April 29, 2015.
Solvang, the HRW researcher, further said all sides “need to recognize that using banned cluster munitions is harming civilians.”
“Increasing evidence of cluster munition use raises concerns not just for civilians now, but for when the fighting is over,” Solvang said.
The report also urged the supporters of the Saudi aggression against Yemen, particularly the United States, to condemn the use of the banned weapons by Riyadh.
On May 3, the rights organization said photographs, video footage, and other evidence have surfaced since mid-April 2015, indicating that cluster munitions have been used in attacks on Sa’ada.
In August 2013, the US Department of Defense agreed to provide Riyadh with 1,300 CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapons manufactured by Textron.
Yemen has been the target of incessant Saudi airstrikes since March 26. The UN says the ongoing conflict in Yemen has claimed the lives of about 2,000 people and has injured in excess of 500,000 others since March 19.
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