2016 Sana'a funeral air raid

October 2016 Sana'a air raid In total 155 people were killed and at least 525 more wounded when two airstrikes, about three to eight minutes apart, hit the packed Al Kubra hall in Sana'a, Yemen during a funeral in the afternoon of 8 October 2016, at which point it became the deadliest single bombing of the then 2 year long Yemeni civil war.^[3] The funeral was being held for the father of former interior minister Jalal al-Rowaishan. Sana'a mayor Abdel Qader Hilal was reportedly among those killed.^[4][5] The Saudi-led coalition initially denied responsibility but then took responsibility and put the blame on information given by the Yemeni government.^[6][7]

War crime allegations

The United Nations alleged that the Saudi-led coalition had committed a war crime^[8] because the bombing was a 'double tap' attack. This is when the first bombing is followed by a second one soon after, which aims to attack the wounded, aid workers and medical personnel tending to them. The UN report said: "The second air strike, which occurred three to eight minutes after the first air strike, almost certainly resulted in more casualties to the already wounded and the first responders." Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said that his government was being careful to abide by humanitarian law.^[8]

Reactions

Domestic

Thousands of Yemenis marched in the capital city on 9 October to protest the air raid and show solidarity to the victims.^[9]

International

•  United Nations - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the attack an outrageous violation of international humanitarian law and calling for a full inquiry with consequences for those found culpable.^[10][11] UN humanitarian coordinator Jamie McGoldrick described it as a "horrific attack" and called for an immediate investigation.
•  Saudi Arabia - After initially denying it was involved, the country later admitted it had ordered the airstrikes and expressed its deep regret of the attack in the letter from its United Nations mission to the U.N. Security Council. It promised to release the results of its own investigation into the strike and claimed it was careful to abide by international humanitarian law.^[12]
•  United States of America - Despite its alliance with Saudi Arabia, the US condemned the attack. White House National Security Spokesman Ned Price said the country had launched an "immediate review" of its already reduced support for the coalition. "US security cooperation with Saudi Arabia is not a blank cheque," he said, adding the US was "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".^[13]
•  United Kingdom - The British government said the bombing was "shocking" but that, unlike the US government, it would not be carrying out a review of British support for the Saudi-led coalition.^[14] A Foreign Office spokeswoman said that Britain was content for the coalition to carry out its own investigation into its actions. "They have the best insight into their own military procedures and will be able to conduct the most thorough and conclusive investigations," she said.^[14]

Non-governmental organisations

• Human Rights Watch deputy director for Global Advocacy indicated that this bombing continues the observed pattern of Saudi coalition's bombings in Yemen, saying that "the whole war has been marked by attacks on weddings, hospitals, civilian infrastructure, civilian locations, so it fits a pattern. Better late than never, but the world should have woken up a long time ago to this."^[3]

• Amnesty International spokesperson Sunjeev Bery said: "The Saudi-led coalition has wreaked devastation by striking civilian communities across Yemen with bombs from the skies. Saturday's horrible bloodbath at the funeral hall in Sanaa is only the latest atrocity in this conflict. Since the conflict began in March 2015, markets hospitals, weddings, homes mosques and now [a] funeral gathering have been hit. The attack appears to be the latest in a string of unlawful attacks targeting civilian gatherings.^[15]"

• Oxfam policy adviser Scott Paul said: "This was a massacre of civilians. It is telling that, after initially denying responsibility wholesale, Saudi Arabia announced an investigation into the attack with support from US experts. Not for the first time, Saudi Arabia is using US support to legitimise its heinous conduct and deflect international criticism".^[15]

References