The New York Times has used its widely read editorial to slam American support for Saudi Arabia’s intervention in the civil war in Yemen, now the world’s largest humanitarian catastrophe.
“A hospital associated with Doctors Without Borders. A school. A potato chip factory. Under international law, those facilities in Yemen are not legitimate military targets,” the editorial said. “Yet all were bombed in recent days by warplanes belonging to a coalition led by Saudi Arabia, killing more than 40 civilians.”
The Saudi-led coalition has been criticised for killing thousands of civilians and bombing non-military targets since the commencement of airstrikes in March last year.
A 16-month naval blockade has led to mass starvation across the country, including more than 2 million children suffering from acute malnourishment.
“The United States is complicit in this carnage. It has enabled the coalition in many ways, including selling arms to the Saudis to mollify them after the nuclear deal with Iran,” editors wrote.
A Yemeni malnourished infant cries as he lies on a bed in al-Sabaen Hospital in Sanaa, Yemen. Source: Getty Images
Those weapons include cluster bombs, banned by most countries because they are difficult to target with precision and many small bomblets fail to explode, becoming de facto land-mines.
America is also supporting the coalition with targeting advice, in-flight refueling and shared intelligence.
Recent peace talks held in Kuwait ended without resolution in early August, ending a shaky four-month cease-fire. The paper said the most recent spate of bombings hitting non-military targets suggested one of two possibilities.
“One is that the Saudis and their coalition of mostly Sunni Arab partners have yet to learn how to identify permissible military targets,” editors said. “The other is that they simply do not care about killing innocent civilians.”
The United Nations has blamed coalition airstrikes for the majority of civilian casualties, and rights groups have accused both sides of war crimes.
In this file photo, a Yemeni boy walks amid the ruins after an air-strike carried out by the Saudi-led coalition. Source: Getty Images
“[The recent bombing of a hospital], which alone killed 15 people, was the fourth attack on a facility supported by Doctors Without Borders in the past year even though all parties to the conflict were told exactly where the hospitals were located,” the New York Times wrote.
The paper said that Saudi Arabia is the most responsible for the current humanitarian catastrophe, having inflamed the conflict through their intervention. The country claims the conflict in neighbouring Yemen is a threat because their regional rival Iran was linked to rebel forces.
The paper described any ties between Iran and Houthi rebels as ‘loose’.
“Mr. Obama agreed to support the Yemen intervention — without formal authorization from Congress — and sell the Saudis even more weapons in part to appease Riyadh’s anger over the Iran nuclear deal,” the paper said. “All told, since taking office, Mr. Obama has sold the Saudis $110 billion in arms, including Apache helicopters and missiles.”
Human Rights Watch says they have evidence of US-made cluster munitions deployed by the coalition in Yemen. Source: Human Rights Watch
Editors said a shift in foreign policy was needed to end US entanglement.
“Congress should put the arms sales on hold and President Obama should quietly inform Riyadh that the United States will withdraw crucial assistance if the Saudis do not stop targeting civilians and agree to negotiate peace,” they said.
More on Yemen:
Deadly coalition air strikes hit MSF hospital in Yemen
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