JIAT publishes findings into Yemen airstrikes

RIYADH: An investigation by the Saudi-led coalition’s Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT) has determined that the coalition targeted a legitimate military target in an airstrike in Yemen’s Hajah directorate on Aug. 30, 2015.
However, the JIAT said the coalition should apologize for the unintentional killing and injury of nearby factory workers due to weather conditions causing the laser-guided bomb to miss the target and hit the factory’s yard. The JIAT added that the coalition should provide assistance to the victims’ families.
Addressing a press conference at King Salman Airbase in Riyadh on Sunday, Mansour Al-Mansour, official spokesman of the JIAT, dismissed a claim that a hospital in Hodeidah province was targeted on Oct. 9, 2015, saying a weapons storage facility was hit and nearby civilian facilities were not affected, based on aerial photos before and after the operation. As such, the JIAT concluded that the coalition’s actions were compatible with international law.
The JIAT dismissed a claim by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) that coalition forces bombed a prison in Al-Bayda governorate on Oct. 11, 2015, killing 10 people and injuring 15.
The JIAT said the target was not a prison, but a facility for weapons-storage and for rebels to re-group.
As such, it was a legitimate military target and the operation did not violate international law, the JIAT added.
It denied the ICRC’s claim that coalition forces bombed Saada Old City on Oct. 21, 2015.
The JIAT said coalition forces bombed a jeep carrying Houthis, and a building used by them, both of which were outside the boundaries of the Old City.