Saudi-led coalition to probe Yemen airstrike that killed 140

The Saudi-led coalition fighting rebels in Yemen said Sunday it is ready to investigate together with the United States an air strike on a funeral ceremony in Sanaa that killed more than 140 people.

The Iran-backed Huthi rebels have blamed the Arab coalition for Saturday’s attack, one of the deadliest since it launched a military campaign against the Shiite insurgents in March last year.

But after initially denying any responsibility, the coalition said it was ready to launch a probe into the “regrettable and painful” strike, which a UN official said also wounded more than 525 people.

“The coalition will immediately investigate this case along with Joint Incidents Assessment Team in Yemen and experts from the United States who participated in previous investigations,” it said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.

“The coalition is also willing to provide the investigation team with any data and information related to its military operations today, at the incident’s location and the surrounding areas,” it said.

“The result of the investigation should be announced as soon as it’s completed.”

The UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, said aid workers were “shocked and outraged” by the attacks that hit a community hall in the Yemeni capital where mourners had gathered.

Following the report, the United States said it would review its support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

“We are deeply disturbed by reports of today’s air strike on a funeral hall in Yemen, which, if confirmed, would continue the troubling series of attacks striking Yemeni civilians,” White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

“In light of this and other recent incidents, we have initiated an immediate review of our already significantly reduced support to the Saudi-led coalition and are prepared to adjust our support so as to better align with US principles, values and interests, including achieving an immediate and durable end to Yemen’s tragic conflict.”

Price stressed that “US security cooperation with Saudi Arabia is not a blank check”, and called on all sides to implement an “immediate” ceasefire.

In August, the US military announced it had slashed its number of intelligence advisers supporting the Saudi-led coalition following concerns over civilian casualties.

In its statement, the coalition expressed its “deepest condolences and support to the families of the victims of hostilities since the coup takeover of power in Yemen during 2014”.

“The coalition confirms that its troops have clear instructions not to target populated areas and to avoid civilians,” said the Saudi-led alliance.

The coalition — which also comprises Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, Qatar, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates — has faced repeated criticism from rights groups over civilian casualties in its campaign in Yemen.

The UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, said aid workers were “shocked and outraged” by the attacks that hit a community hall in the capital Sanaa where mourners had gathered.

“Initial reports from health officials in Sanaa indicate that over 140 people were killed and over 525 injured,” he said in a statement.

He condemned the “horrific attack” and reminded all parties to the conflict “that under international humanitarian law, they are obliged to protect civilians and civilian infrastructures.” He called for an immediate investigation into the incident.

The Saturday funeral was held for Sheikh Ali al-Rawishan, the father of Galal al-Rawishan, the interior minister in the rebel-led government. Among those killed was Maj. Gen. Abdul-Qader Hilal, head of the capital’s local council, officials said, while Galal Al-Rishwan was seriously wounded.

In the aftermath of the strike, hundreds of body parts were found strewn in and outside the hall. Rescuers collected them in sacks. The strike left the building little more than a shell, with most of its walls and roof gone. Cars parked outside were mangled by the blast.

Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Houthis’ spokesman in Sanaa, angrily denounced the airstrike as the latest act of “genocide” by the Saudi-led coalition.

“The silence of the United Nations and the international community is the munition of the murderers,” he said. “Those murderers will not escape divine justice.”

Saturday’s attack comes after a Saudi-led coalition March 15 airstrike on a market in Yemen’s northwestern city of Mastaba that killed at least 119 people. Saudi forces reportedly used US munitions in that strike, which at the time was described as the second-deadliest of the Saudi campaign, after a July 2015 attack near a power plant in Mokha that killed at least 120 people.

A recent report by the UN’s human rights chief, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, estimated that 3,799 civilians have been killed since the Saudi-led air campaign began in March of last year. The UN and rights groups estimate the conflict has claimed the lives of at least 9,000 people and displaced nearly 3 million more in the Arab world’s poorest country.

According to the report, coalition airstrikes were responsible for 60 percent of civilian deaths over a yearlong span starting in July last year. Just under one-quarter — 475 — civilian deaths were attributed to rebel forces like those loyal to Saleh, and another 113 to affiliates of al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.