UN urges transparent, independent probe into fatal Saudi airstrike on Yemen prison

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has called for a "transparent, independent and impartial" investigation into an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition on a detention center in Yemen’s northwestern city of Sa’ada, which claimed scores of lives.

The Saudi-led coalition's airstrikes on the detention facility in Sa’ada killed at least 91 people and injured many more last week, the OHCHR said, citing preliminary figures.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva, OHCHR Spokesperson Rupert Colville said staff from its Yemen office were in Sa’ada this week as part of an interagency mission, and the information they collected “paints a chaotic and desperate picture” in the wake of the airstrikes. 

“We are working to verify the civilian casualties but so far, we understand that some 91 detainees were killed, many when the upper floor of one building collapsed, and 236 others were injured,” Colville said. 

Yemeni officials have called for an international investigation into the airstrike. The overnight attack created horrific scenes, with bombed-out buildings littered with bodies and hospitals overwhelmed.

Death toll from Saudi airstrike on Yemen prison rises to 91

The Yemeni health minister says the death toll from a Saudi airstrike on a prison in the northern city of Sa’ada has now risen to 91.

The UN chief has condemned the Saudi-led air raids on Sa’ada and called for an investigation into the attacks.  

“The Secretary General calls for prompt, effective and transparent investigations into these incidents to ensure accountability,” Antonio Guterres’ spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said.

Following calls from the UN chief, the Saudi-led coalition said it was investigating the incident.

The OHCHR spokesman urged Saudis "to ensure that the investigation is in line with international standards and is transparent, independent and impartial, to establish why the prison was hit, to ensure individual accountability for any breaches of international humanitarian law, and to identify measures and procedures required to prevent such incidents in the future.”

Colville added, “During the recent visit by our team this week, we saw no signs indicating that this site, formerly a barracks, continues to have a military function. And in light of this, we have asked the coalition to share their information with us.”

Saudi Arabia, backed by the United States and regional allies, launched the war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of former Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi back to power and crushing the popular Ansarullah resistance movement.

The war has left hundreds of thousands of Yemenis dead and displaced millions more. It has also destroyed Yemen’s infrastructure and spread famine and infectious diseases there.

Despite Saudi Arabia’s heavily-armed and incessant bombardment of the impoverished country, the Yemeni armed forces have gradually grown stronger, leaving Riyadh and its allies, most notably the United Arab Emirates, bogged down in the country.

25 million Yemenis suffering from stifling fuel crisis: Oil company

The executive general manager of Yemeni Oil Company on Saturday warned that the current situation in the impoverished country portends a humanitarian catastrophe in the next few days, saying that 85 percent of the vital sectors would face problems due to the depletion of their oil stocks.

Ammar al-Adra'i said the company meets the fuel needs of approximately 77 percent of the Yemeni population.

He also criticized the United Nations for deliberately shirking its responsibilities towards the Yemeni people

Saudi-led coalition impounds Yemen-bound oil tanker despite UN clearance

The ship was pulled toward Saudi Arabia

As part of its economic war, the Saudi-led coalition has imposed a siege on Yemen, preventing fuel shipments from reaching the country, while looting the impoverished nation’s resources.

The UN says more than 24 million Yemenis are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme levels of hunger. The world body also refers to the situation in Yemen as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The Saudi war has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories.

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