Saudi report documents war crimes by Houthis

Riyadh - 184,000 violations committed against Yemenis resulting in 8,182 deaths

The Al Houthi militias and forces loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh have committed 184,551 violations against the people of Yemen in 2015, which resulted in the death of 8,182 people across the country, said the Saudi Press Agency SPA in a report released on Tuesday.
The report said that the militias destroyed what was left of Yemen's landmarks, filling the land with the blood of innocent women, children and the elderly.
According to the report, the Yemeni Popular Resistance forces uncovered a series of criminal operations carried out by the Houthis and their supporters including murder, kidnapping, detention and the misleading of public opinion about the reality of their actions - which is bombing cities and the population - in implementation of Iran's hostile schemes and efforts to control the region. The report also found that the rebels attempted to blame these acts on the efforts of men participating in Operation Decisive Storm, which was launched by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and the Arab coalition to save Yemen from their control. In another tragic scene in Yemen, the report stated - and as part of the Houthi's destructive ploys, which derides all Islamic and Arab values and international norms - the rebels have looted international relief aid convoys trying to reach beneficiaries by crossing rough terrains. Despite all this, the report added, the King Salman Relief and Humanitarian Aids Centre managed to provide 50 humanitarian programmes for the brotherly people in Yemen in its various cities and provinces.
Since the Houthi and Saleh armed militias forcibly took control of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa on 21st September, 2014, the group and their supporters have been engaging in looting of camps, appointing their loyalists in all ministries and public institutions in Yemen, which, said the report, reached a crucial low point in 2015 that brought little opportunities for human rights protection, resulting in a lack of community control, the harassment of media persons and journalists by undermining their freedoms, closing-down of channels and newspapers, and blocking websites which reveal the repeated aggressions carried out by rebels.
Statistics by the Yemeni Human Rights Commission has found that the total number of violations committed in Yemen was 184,551 across 17 cities and counties. The commission also found that 19,782, people were wounded, and 8,881 people were unlawfully detained, while the number of public facilities damaged by bombing by Houthis were 2,780 public and 22,915 private facilities.
The panel's 90-page report, which will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council within the next two weeks, also showed that the rebels tried to silence the Yemeni voice by closing-down nine satellite channels, 38 newspapers, and blocking more than 86 websites, as well as banning 98 protests and shutting-down 18 human rights organisations, and 8 radio stations in an effort to cover up their daily criminal practices against civilians. 
 

• MENA