War crimes in Yemen?
After Gaza, the next task for Judge Goldstone could be Yemen
where the government continues to fight a rebellion in the north
By Brian Whitaker
The Guardian, 18 September 2009
Now that the UN commission has
published its findings on Gaza, there's
another task waiting for Judge Goldstone and his team: an investigation into
possible war crimes in Yemen. Off and on for the last five years, the Yemeni
government has been
fighting a rebellion in the north of the
country. The latest flare-up began five weeks ago when the military launched an
offensive codenamed Operation Scorched Earth.
It is difficult to know exactly what is going on there, partly because access
is severely restricted (for aid workers as well as journalists). Day after day
the government claims to have inflicted further "painful" strikes against the
rebels – known as Houthis – and the rebels in turn appear to have killed and
captured significant numbers of government troops, as well as some armoured
vehicles.
One thing beyond doubt, though, is that this has created a major
humanitarian crisis. Tens of thousands have had to flee their
homes and, so far, aid agencies have been unable to provide food or shelter for
many of them.
The Houthis are fierce fighters and by no means a pleasant bunch: there have
been numerous reports of them killing people in cold blood.
The government says it is going to finish them off once and for all, and some
of its statements sound remarkably similar to those heard from Israel about
wiping out Hezbollah in 2006 and Hamas earlier this year. As in Lebanon and
Gaza, it is probably not going to succeed. It may kill lots of people and
quieten the rebellion, but disaffection in the rebel areas will not go away any
time soon: it is a result of decades of exclusion and marginalisation.
Since Operation Scorched Earth began, the Yemeni military has been relying
heavily on air strikes. This raises the question of how – if at all – they
distinguish between rebel fighters and civilians, especially in a lawless part
of the country where citizens habitually carry guns for their own protection.
In the first days of the offensive there were reports of
15 civilians killed when a fighter jet
attacked a marketplace.
On Wednesday this week, more than 80 people – mostly women and children –
were reportedly killed when aircraft repeatedly
struck an encampment of people who had
fled the fighting. For once, there appears to be plenty of evidence from
witnesses who can testify to the attack.
According to Human Rights Watch, one
witness said that "Yemeni military planes conducted four raids this morning
[Wednesday] and, without warning, bombed a group of displaced persons sheltering
in an open area near a school. There were no armed clashes or rebels in the area
at the time, the witness said, but the area was close to a road sometimes used
by Houthi rebels."
Unicef yesterday
expressed "deep concern" at the civilian
deaths and its regional director said: "This is unacceptable. Children should
not be caught in conflict. Their right to health, protection and safety must be
protected at all times."
Human Rights Watch called on the Yemeni government "to promptly and
impartially investigate responsibility for any attacks on civilians, and urged
all parties to the armed conflict in the region to respect the prohibition under
international law against targeting civilians".
The Yemeni government says it will investigate, but the specially formed
"fact-finding commission" is not independent – it is under the control of the
army – and there are already signs as to which way the investigation is heading.
The defence ministry is
blaming the rebels for "preventing
citizens from leaving to the safe areas" and says, "The terrorists are using
innocent citizens as human shields."
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