JEDDAH: The Saudi-led coalition again rejected a report by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, claiming it included false data and information about children who lost their lives in the Yemen conflict.
Col. Turki Al-Maliki, the coalition’s spokesman, said the annual report on Children and Armed Conflict mentioned several figures and associated them to the coalition, without any basis or documentation.
Through local organizations supported by the Yemeni president, Al-Maliki said he provided UN officials with the correct data.
Speaking at the Armed Forces Officers Club in Riyadh, Col. Al-Maliki said, Yemen’s national commission of inquiry has reported human rights violations in its latest reports.
These included more than 100 cases of children losing their lives on the battlefield and then being transferred to the capital Sanaa by Houthi militias, “who issue them death certificates.”
The UN report said the Houthis there have been some cases of child recruits from the age of 12. But Al-Maliki said the coalition has evidence that children have been recruited from as early as eight years-old.
Saudi-led coalition rejects UN report on Yemen
Saudi-led coalition rejects UN report on Yemen
