MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The United States should persuade the Saudi-led coalition bombing rebels’ positions in Yemen to take steps minimizing civilian casualties, a rights group said Monday.
In a letter addressed to the US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, Human Rights Watch stressed that the death toll of civilian population in the air campaign has been alarmingly high. According to the UN humanitarian agencies data, over 300 civilians were killed and more than 100,000 displaced in the past two weeks of airstrikes.
“We urge the United States to use its influence with the coalition to ensure that its forces minimize civilian harm and facilitate humanitarian access,” the letter posted on HRW website said.
The address states that “even if the US does not consider itself a party to the conflict in Yemen, its support for the coalition will invariably link the US to the coalition’s actions.”
The Saudi-led coalition comprising mainly Gulf countries started bombing Houthi rebels’ positions in Yemen on March 26 after Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi requested military assistance. The United States does not directly participate in the coalition, but assists it with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information.
In early April, a US senior military official told reporters that the United States would provide aerial refuelling to the coalition in addition to the existing support.
