Coalition Forces air strikes highly focused, says spokesman for Team

Spokesman for the Joint Accidents Assessment Team, in Yemen, Legal Advisor Mansour bin Ahmed Al-Mansour confirmed that the Arab Coalition Forces for the Restoration of Legitimacy, in Yemen, have always been consistent in their air attacks with international humanitarian law.

Speaking at a news conference held today at King Salman airbase in Riyadh, he said that coalition forces had retreated from targeting a site because of the presence of civilians there, indicating that the Houthi militia had taken over a group of civilian buildings, which made targeting legitimate.

It nevertheless took into account that its strikes were accurate and sound, so as to spare civilians and properties any consequences of its strikes.

Al-Mansour said: "The Joint Accident Assessment Team reviewed the report of Amnesty International on 11/25/2015, including the exposure of the Shaina Educational Complex for Girls in Al-Hadidiya, Hodeida Province, to an aerial bombardment on April 8, 2015, with two individuals were where the Joint Team verified the incident.

The actions taken by the Allied Air Force in dealing with military targets (civilian objects) were used for military purposes in accordance with the provisions of international humanitarian law and customary rules.

Al-Mansour pointed to the report of the Human Rights Watch, dated November 2015, which included the coalition forces on 30 August 2015 launched an air strike which destroyed the water filling plant in the province of Hajjah, killing 14 workers and wounding 11 others were about to finish their night shift.

He explained that after the incident was verified by the Joint Accident Assessment Team, it was found that, based on intelligence information, a nearby air support mission was carried out in Hajjah governorate, where mobile antipersonnel was parked close to the factory.

Because of the weather conditions of the presence of some clouds in the target area, deviated the bomb which led to its falling on the factory, causing the destruction and the occurrence of some deaths and injuries, he said.

The Panel found that the coalition forces had targeted a legitimate military target (ground-based antipersonnel) and for reasons beyond the will (compulsive), the bomb went off course and landed on the factory unintentionally, explaining that civil protection had fallen from the factory after being used as a military site, he stated.

The spokesman said that the joint accident assessment team reviewed the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Yemen presented, at the 30th session of the Human Rights Council on 7/9/2015 that the coalition forces targeted Al Yamani Dairy and Beverage Factory directly in four raids Air strike on 31/3/2015, killing at least 20 people and injuring 59 others.

The Panel verified the incident and after the joint team had been informed of all the documents, including the procedures and rules of engagement, the air mission and the evidence assessment, the Panel found that, at 11:30 pm on 31 March 2015, intelligence agency carried out an air mission in the city of Hodeida by shelling the building of a command and control center under the control of the ousted forces of Saleh, using two bombs.

The military target was 200 meters away from the factory, this is a safe distance to avoid hitting nearby civilian objects, between the military building and the mosque.

He stated that the team had received credible information that the armed Houthi militia had threatened one of the commercial groups in order to secure large intrusions and that if they refused, we would bomb the factory, similar to what was done with the Yemeni Dairy and Beverage Factory.

The Joint Accident Assessment Team did not establish that the Allied Air Force bombed the Yamani dairy and beverage factory and that its procedures in dealing with the military objective (Command and Control Center) were correct in accordance with the provisions of international humanitarian law and rules Customary, the statement concluded.