Rights group demands probe into Yemen airstrikes

CAIRO – An international rights group has denounced a Saudi-led military coalition for failing to investigate airstrikes in Yemen that led to the killing of civilians, saying members of the coalition are fearful of international legal liability.

Human Rights Watch said in a report Friday that it received no response from any coalition members to requests for information on airstrikes.

The group pointed to a recent airstrike that killed and injured 25 civilians, including women and children in the capital Sanaa on Aug. 25. The coalition admitted a technical error was behind the airstrike but gave no information.

Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, says: “Yemeni civilians who are paying the price of this war deserve far more than blanket denials or generic expressions of sympathy.”