‘Damning evidence of war crimes by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition’

US and UK arms transfers risk fueling further war crimes in northern Yemen: Amnesty

“Damning evidence of war crimes” committed by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, which is armed by the US and UK among others, urgently calls for an “independent, effective investigation of violations in Yemen” as well as “the suspension of transfers of certain arms,” said Amnesty International in a new report published today.

‘Bombs fall from the sky day and night’: Civilians under fire in northern Yemen examines 13 deadly airstrikes by the coalition in Sa’da, north-eastern Yemen, which killed some 100 civilians, including 59 children. It also documents the use of internationally banned cluster bombs

“This report uncovers yet more evidence of unlawful airstrikes carried out by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, some of which amount to war crimes. It demonstrates in harrowing detail how crucial it is to stop arms being used to commit serious violations of this kind,” said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International’s Senior Crisis Response Adviser who headed the organization’s fact-finding mission to Yemen.

“The designation of large, heavily populated areas as military targets and the repeated targeting of civilian homes are telling examples revealing the coalition forces’ flagrant failure to take sufficient precautions to avoid civilian loss of life as required by international humanitarian law,” added Rovera.

At least 59 children were killed in the 13 airstrikes that have been documented by Amnesty International in the Sa’da region between May and July 2015, said the report.

“The world’s indifference to the suffering of Yemeni civilians in this conflict is shocking. The failure of the UN Human Rights Council last week to establish an international investigation into violations committed by all sides is the latest in a series of failures by the international community to address total impunity for perpetrators of serious violations in Yemen.”

The report is post on line: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/10/yemen-call-for-suspension-of-arms-transfers-to-coalition-and-accountability-for-war-crimes/

Thousands Killed in Yemen

The death toll from Saudi-led coalition airstrikes and fighting on the ground has now exceeded 5,000 people, including about 2,500 civilians,  since March 26, when Houthi fighters and allied army units forced Yemen’s “corrupt” president to flee the country.

9 in 10 deaths and injuries from explosive weapons in Yemen are civilian: UNOCHA

About 86 percent of the people killed or injured by explosive weapons are civilians, according to a report: “State of crisis: explosive weapons in Yemen,” issued this week by OCHA and NGO Action on Armed Violence (AOAV).

This number rises to 95 per cent when explosive weapons are used in populated areas.

Related Links

• 135 Civilians Killed in Saudi Airstrike on Yemen Wedding September 29, 2015
• Scale of Human Catastrophe in Yemen ‘Almost Incomprehensible’ September 20, 2015
• Global Disasters/ Significant Events – June 7, 2015 Posted on June 7, 2015
• Saudi-led Coalition Using Same Cluster Munition in Yemen as ISIS Fired in Syria May 31, 2015
• Civilian Mass Murders with Impunity Continue in Yemen, Syria, Iraq… May 3, 2015
• Yemen Violence Taking Intolerable Toll on Kids: UNICEF April 7, 2015
• Saudi Air War Massacre Kills Hundreds in Yemen April 3, 2015
• Half a million Yemeni children suffer from acute malnutrition December 28, 2011

19 Women Executed in Mosul, Iraq for Resisting ISIL ‘Sexual Jihad’

Iraq Government Failing to Protect Citizens Against ISIL Terrorism

The Islamic State has executed 19 women in the Iraqi city of Mosul for their refusal to participate in the practice of sexual jihad, a spokesperson for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has told Iraqi News.

In 2014, ISIL [Islamic State, IS, formerly ISIS, ISIL, and locally known as daesh] officially admitted to running a slave market for Yazidi women and children in their English language magazine Dabiq, said reports.

About 500 people have been violently killed in Iraq in the last week alone, most of them in summary executions carried out by ISIL terrorists.

More than 12,500 people have been killed and up to twice as many wounded in Iraq so far this year, according to reports.

Related Links

• Nearly 2,000 Iraqis Killed or Wounded in September [October 6, 2015]

Freeze Warning in Effect for NE Minnesota, Douglas County Wisconsin

Temperatures forecast to drop to as low as 20s (F)

These conditions will kill crops and other sensitive vegetation, according to the NWS Forecast.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
The areas covered by the Freeze Warning includes the cities of International Falls, Ely, Basswood Lake, Bbutterfly Lake, Eagle Mountain, Forest Center, Isabella, Murphy City, Sawbill, Landing, Bigfork, Hhibbing, Virginia, Chisholm, Two Harbors, Silver Bay, Ggrand Marais, Walker, Cass Lake, Remer, Backus, Hackensack, Grand Rapids, Cohasset, East Gull Lake, Lake Shore, Pine River, Pillager, Brainerd, Baxter, Hill City, Aitkin, Duluth, Pine City, Sandstone, Hinckley, Rock Creek, Lake Nebagamon, Solon Springs, Poplar, Superior and Oliver, said NWS in Duluth.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND
Freeze Warning areas includes the cities of Roseau, Warroad, Greenbush, Baudette, Newfolden, Middle River, Grygla, Red Lake, Redby, Ponemah, Thief River Falls, Red Lake Falls, Fosston, Fertile, Mcintosh, Erskine, Bagley, Clearbrook, Bemidji, Mahnomen, Naytahwaush, Waubun, Alida, Ebro, Lake Itasca, Long Lost Lake, Lower Rice Lake, Roy Lake, Upper Rice Lake, Park Rapids, Wolf Lake, Wadena and Menahga.

Frost Advisory is in effect for a wide band of areas encircling the locations under Freeze Warning in the two states as well as eastern North Dakota.