US Weapons Responsible for Civilian Deaths in Yemen

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Investigations reveal remnants of US weapons used in air strikes that targeted, killed, and injured over 200 civilians, including over 100 women and children

[caption id="attachment_15257" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Remnant of a weapon (Mk-82) found aftermath the air strike on the Shaab area in Haradh city in Hajjah governorate.[/caption]Sana’a – Thursday September 20, 2018 The United States has provided the Saudi/UAE-led Arab Coalition with weapons that the Coalition has used in at least 19 unlawful air strikes, including cluster weapons attacks, carried out between April 2015 and July 2018, according to Mwatana Organization for Human Rights. These strikes killed at least 88 civilians, including 45 children and 18 women, and injured 145 civilians, including 64 children and 14 women. Evidence strongly suggests that these Coalition attacks violated international law.Mwatana’s findings confirm that the widely-condemned Coalition airstrike on August 9, 2018 – which hit a bus carrying 35 children in Dhahyan, Majaz District, Sa’ada Governorate – is not an isolated incident, but rather the latest in a series of gruesome Coalition attacks involving US weapons. The August 9 strike killed at least 29 civilians, including 21 children and five others of unconfirmed ages.Mwatana is an independent, Yemen-based organization dedicated to the defense and promotion of human rights. Mwatana researchers have conducted field investigations of Coalition airstrikes on civilians in seven governorates "Sanaa, Aden, Taizz, Ibb, Hajjah, Al Hudaydah and Abyan", including interviews with victims, eyewitnesses, and paramedics. After analyzing photographs of weapons remnants found on-site taken by Mwatana team, arms experts have concluded that weapons used in at least 15 of these attacks were US-made.Mwatana contends that no military target could have justified bombing a bus loaded with children and urgently calls for an impartial investigation into the incident.Mwatana believes that by exporting weapons to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the rest of the Arab Coalition, the United States government puts itself at risk of complicity in unlawful attacks by the coalition, particularly as US-made weapons have been discovered at the site of some of these attacks where dozens of civilians have been killed. Mwatana calls on the US to immediately cease arms sales to these countries.Mwatana urges the US government to abide by the principles of international law, including those set out in the Arms Trade Treaty. The United States must also promptly accede to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and abide by the internationally accepted ban on the use of such weapons.Under Article 6.3 of the Arms Trade Treaty[1], the US and other signatories cannot transfer arms if they are aware that these arms are likely to be used to commit crimes against humanity or war crimes, including attacks on civilians or civilian objects.The United States continues to supply Saudi Arabia and the UAE with weapons, notwithstanding ample evidence of Coalition use of those weapons in attacks where there was no military target or where civilians have been disproportionately harmed. In April 2018, the US State Department announced a $1.31 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia,[2] mere days after the approval of other arms contracts worth more than one billion dollars. The deals came on the heels of US President Donald Trump's May 2017 declaration of $110 billion of arms sales to Saudi Arabia[3] – described as one of the largest arms deals in US history.[4]“By selling weapons to countries that violate International Humanitarian Law, the United States of America is partially responsible for these crimes. The ongoing flow of arms from the US to Saudi Arabia and the UAE is directly contributing to civilian deaths, injuries, and suffering in Yemen,” said Radhya al-Mutawakel, Chairperson of Mwatana.Mwatana Organization for Human Rights calls on the United States to respect human rights and cease selling weapons to violators. Mwatana also calls on the Saudi/UAE-led Arab Coalition to immediately stop targeting civilians and civilian objects. Mwatana stresses the urgency need for an independent, impartial, thorough, and effective investigation into the incidents in which civilians and civilian objects were harmed, and urges renewal of Group of Eminent Experts "GEE" mandate.Correction: This news release has been updated to reflect that Mwatana cannot positively identify the weapon used in the August 9, 2018, bus attack, as Mwatana bases all of its weapons identifications on photos and videos taken by Mwatana field team in the aftermath of attacks.Mwatana spokespersons contact details: Radhya Al-Mutawakel, ChairpersonTel: +967 774166666E-mail: ralmutawakel@mwatana.orgOsamah Al-Faqih, Research Unit DirectorTel: 00967775546904E-mail: oalfakih@mwatana.orgAli Jameel, ResearcherTel: +967 772844655E-mail: ajameel@mwatana.orgANNEX: A FEW OF THE INCIDENTS INVOLVING US WEAPONS DOCUMENTED BY MWATANAAttacks on civilians and civilian homes: The law of war prohibits deliberate attacks on civilians or civilian objects, as well as disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks. If the attacks are intentional or reckless, they amount to a war crime.[5]Dar Sa’ad District, Aden Governorate:At 10:30pm on Thursday, April 30, 2015, Saudi/UAE-led Arab Coalition fighter jets dropped a US-made bomb on a residential neighborhood in al-Basateen area of Dar Sa’ad District, Aden Governorate. The bomb targeted the home of Ms. Haifa al-Zawqari, who was killed in the attack. Six other civilians, including a young girl and two women, were wounded.Haifa’s 60 years old neighbor, Aisha Yahya, witnessed the incident. “While I was with my daughters in the yard, we heard the sound of the jet,” Aisha reported. “The sound was painful to my ears. Then I saw a flame that lit up the sky and then a bomb fell on the Stone Saw that was about 200 meters from my house. About five minutes later, the jet dropped another bomb on the second floor of Haifa's home, and then I saw nothing but dust.”Ashaar Ali, Haifa's 23 years old daughter, was wounded in the attack. "The house shook when the first bomb exploded. As the second bomb was coming closer to us, I felt that someone threw dust on me. I didn’t realize that the home and room where my mum and I had crumbled on our heads until they got me out of the rubble," Ashaar recounted.[caption id="attachment_15260" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Remnant of a weapon (Mk-82) found aftermath the air strike on a residential neighborhood in al-Basateen area of Dar Sa’ad District, Aden Governorate. 15 May, 2016.[/caption]According to a report by Mwatana-commissioned experts who analyzed the remnants of weapons found on-site, the Coalition used a US-made bomb (the GBU-12 Paveway II) in this attack. The (Paveway II) consists of a bomb (Mk-82) directed by laser by an additional device mounted on the bomb’s head. The bomb weighs between 230-330kg and contains 87kg of highly explosive H6.Bilad ArRus District, Sana’a Governorate:At 10:00am on Wednesday, September 14, 2015, Coalition aircraft struck Wa’lan Agricultural Complex with five bombs. The Complex, located in Bilad Ar Rus District, Sana'a Governorate, consists of six houses for agricultural engineers. The attack destroyed all six houses; killed at least eight civilians, including two children and four women; and wounded 12 civilians, most of them children.Najib Ali 34 and his wife Abeer Ahmed 35 survived the attack. Najib recounted: "I could hear the plane hovering and I was lying in my room. Suddenly I heard the sound of an explosion that hurled me to the other side of the room. I tried to seek protection under one of the pillars so that the rubble would not fall on me.” Meanwhile, Abeer was in the kitchen, feeling her way around in search of the couple’s two-and-a-half-year-old son Ahmed. "I arrived in the bedroom and all the windows were shattered, and I found Ahmed in his father's lap. I lay down next to them and said to them: 'We will live together, or we will die together,'" recalled Abeer.Najib and Abeer alternated in describing the ensuing moments. “We heard our neighbor Ali Muqbel’s girls screaming, but they fell silent after the second bomb," said Abeer. "We decided to leave the house after hearing the second bomb. We left the house through the backdoor and saw Ali Muqbel’s house leveled to the ground. I realized the second bomb had silenced his daughters forever.”“I grabbed my wife's hand and tried to escape," continued Najib, "and then a third bomb landed nearby, and a fragment hit my wife’s feet. She had superficial wounds and trouble walking as a result. As we fled, I heard the weeping of our seventy-year-old neighbor. She was a disabled woman. I agreed with Abeer that I would go help our neighbor and she would walk with Ahmed towards the mountain. I returned to my wife, who had taken a different route from the one we agreed upon. She was not fully conscious because of the horror of the hell we saw.” Najib and other eyewitnesses confirmed that two other bombs fell on the Complex after Najib, Abeer, and their son escaped to the mountain.A Mwatana research team arrived on-site and found remnants of the weapons used in the strike on Wa’lan Agricultural Complex. Arms experts assisting Mwatana concluded that the remnants were part of a US-made laser-guided bomb (the GBU-24 Paveway III) manufactured by Raytheon.Two months after this attack, on November 13, 2015, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency issued a news release reporting a possible sale of 1,100 GBU-24 Paveway III laser-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia. The US State Department subsequently approved this sale[6].Evidence strongly suggests that the Saudi/UAE-led Arab Coalition did not distinguish in this attack between civilian objects and military targets, which violates the principle of distinction under international humanitarian law. The principle of distinction requires warring parties to distinguish between civilian and military targets and to take the necessary measures to ensure the protection of civilians from armed attacks. The same law also considers indiscriminate attacks committed as a result of negligence to be a war crime.At Ta'iziyah District, Taizz Governorate:On February 6, 2016 between 1:00 and 2:00pm, a Saudi/UAE-led Arab Coalition fighter jet targeted a residential house in Al-Ma’thoul, Al-Qassas Village, At Ta'iziyah District, Taizz Governorate. The attack killed a woman and her daughter and severely damaged the house.According to Urouba Abdul Hakim 25 years, a neighbor who witnessed the air strike, “The jet was hovering intensely that night, and then targeted a house with women and children, while the rest of the family worked outside Yemen.” Urouba added, "Our area is far from the clash lines. There are no clashes there and no military compounds – not even houses for military commanders or suspects.”Abdul Elah Mahmoud 38years,volunteered in evacuating the house after it was bombed. “The sound of the explosion was terrifying. The voice of crying children and screaming women filled the village. It was a truly brutal and ugly attack," he described.Mwatana researchers found remnants of a US-made bomb at the site of the air strike. The Mk-82 LDGP bomb casing (P/N B1 32-5-07-04-005) remnants are printed with the words ‘BURKAN MUNITIONS SYSTEMS,’ referring to a UAE government company. According to weapons experts, the initially empty US-made bomb might have been loaded with explosives at the Burkan ammunition factory in the United Arab Emirates.Mwatana contends that no military target could have justified bombing a civilian house with only women and children inside. Evidence strongly suggests that this apparently indiscriminate attack amounted to a war crime.Use of Cluster Munitions:The use of cluster munitions has been widely condemned by the international community as causing unnecessary human suffering. Since 2015, Mwatana has documented the use of US-made cluster munitions by the Saudi and UAE-led coalition in unlawful attacks in Yemen.Haradh District, Hajjah Governorate:At 1:30pm on Saturday, August 15, 2015, Arab Coalition air strikes struck the home of Majed Ali 28 years, a farmer in Bani Haddad village, Haradh District, Hajjah Governorate. Three bombs including a cluster bomb struck Majed’s home, killing at least 10 civilians, including six children and three women. Six other civilians were injured in the incident.According to a Mwatana researcher who visited the scene, Majed’s home was located in a small village that lacked basic services. Other than a checkpoint about 500 meters north of the village belonging to the Ansar Allah (Houthi) Group, there were no military posts near the village.“Majed was sitting with his children on the couch when a bomb hit them directly, turning them into charred pieces," reported Majid’s brother, Yahya Ali 35 years.Majed's sister, Aisha Ali 31 years, described the first two explosions: "I heard the sound of the bomb while preparing food. I rushed to my brother and his sons to help them, and another bomb landed in the yard of the house. The resulting fire from the bomb explosion burned my face, broke my hand, and covered my entire back in shrapnel. We are not Houthis and we are not near a military site. They targeted us for no reason. They killed my family, destroyed our home, and burned our cattle for no reason.” A third bomb fell right after on the gate of the house.[caption id="attachment_15261" align="aligncenter" width="768"] Remnant of a weapon of a US-made cluster bomb (CBU-58A\B) found aftermath the air strike on Bani Haddad village, Haradh District, Hajjah Governorate.[/caption]Mwatana researchers at the scene found the outer shell of a US-made cluster bomb, the CBU-58A/B Rockeye. According to weapons analysts, this outer shell typically contains 630 BLU-63 submunitions that disperse widely and indiscriminately. These spherical, aluminum bomblets are lined with fragmentable steel to further damage and destroy their targets. According to Human Rights Watch's Survey of Cluster Munitions Policy and Practice[7], the United States exported 1,000 cluster bombs of this type to Saudi Arabia between 1970 and 1995.AlthoughSaudi Arabia did not attend the December 2008 signing conference of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Oslo, the country has voted to condemn the use of cluster munitions multiple times. Most recently, Saudi Arabia voted in favor of UN General Assembly and Human Rights Council resolutions condemning the use of cluster munitions in Syria. Apparently, Saudi Arabia does not apply the same standards to its own actions in Yemen.Al Khawkhah District, Al Hudaydah Governorate:At approximately 3:00pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2016, the Saudi/UAE-led Coalition dropped a US-made cluster bomb on the coastal village of Al-Hima in Al Khawkhah District, Al Hudaydah Governorate.The bomb targeted and destroyed an anchored fishing boat, killing Ali Muqrin 40 years while he slept in the shadow of the boat.The owner of the boat, Yahya Qassem 60 years, witnessed the air strike. “The jet fired a bomb that resembled a parachute, with bombs that were tied to ropes where each rope was about two meters long," according to Yahya. “I was going to my boat, but when I saw the bomb, I ran away and so did the other fishermen,” he added.The father, Muqrin Madarij 55 years, reported: "I heard the sound of the bomb, so I sent my son Ahmed to look for his brother Ali. He found Ali as a dead body on the coast, his head shattered by shrapnel.”Mwatana researchers photographed a remnant of the weapon used in this attack. The remnant bears the mark ‘ASSY 8562837-5.’ According to an arms expert who assisted Mwatana with analysis, the remnant was part of an anti-armor munition – one of four submunitions released by a US-manufactured cluster bomb, the BLU-108. After their release from the cluster bomb, the submunitions descend by parachute. Each submunition lands independently, scans potential targets using a built-in infrared device, and explodes when it detects a target or hits the ground.According to (DSCA Policy 11-33)[8], the United States of America does not allow the transfer of cluster weapons with a mistake rate of 1%, and in 2016 the United States suspended the transfer of cluster munitions to Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, the Trump administration removed a ban on the use of cluster munitionsAttacks on factories:The laws of war protect civilian objects and property, such as factories, stores and other commercial enterprises from attack unless they are used for military purposes or are converted into military targets. Throughout the conflict, Mwatana has documented Saudi-led coalition attacks which have damaged or destroyed civilian factories.Kilo 16, Al Hudaydah Governorate:At approximately 10:30pm on Thursday, December 31, 2015, a Saudi/UAE-led Arab Coalition jet dropped two bombs on Al Kuhlani Cosmetics Factory in Kilo 16, Al Hudaydah Governorate. The bombings severely damaged the factory's infrastructure and destroyed equipment and other materials stored in the warehouse, costing the plant over $1 million in losses.An arms expert identified weapons remnants recovered by Mwatana at the site of the attack as parts of a US-made laser-guided bomb (the GBU-16 Paveway II), which consists of a general-purpose bomb (Mk-83), a laser-guided scanner, and steering wings.Unless used for military purposes or converted into military targets, factories, stores, and other commercial enterprises are civilian objects under International Humanitarian Law. A deliberate or negligent attack on a civilian factory is a war crime.Attacks on weddings:Bani Qa'is District, Hajja Governorate:At 9:30pm on Sunday, April 22, 2018, the Saudi/UAE-led Arab Coalition targeted a wedding in Al-Raqa area of Bani Qa'is District, Hajja Governorate. The attack killed at least 21 civilians, including 11 children, and injured another 97 civilians, including 48 children.A Mwatana research team visited Al-Raqa area and found that the nearest military site (Check-Point) is located 25 kilometers from the scene of the strike.Hajar al-Musabi 40 years witnessed the attack, reporting: "We were in the bride’s house on the hill opposite the groom's house. I heard the sound of the airplane, and then I heard a huge explosion from the northwest direction. Then I saw the place where men were celebrating the wedding; it was like a gutter made of fire.”“When we arrived on the scene, the groom's mother grabbed my hand and led me into the house to show me the extent of the destruction, pointing to the completely shattered doors and windows, the simple furniture that was damaged and the kitchen utensils that were no longer fit for anything,” described a Mwatana researcher.The mother of the groom, Amina Yahya 50 years, recalled the minutes before the attack: "The sound of drums, songs, and chants was filling the village as the time of the arrival of my son’s bride from the nearby village was approaching. I was preparing the dinner for the bride and groom and counting the money that the attendees had given to them. In the blink of an eye, I saw fire fill the place. The ground shook under me. The drums fell silent and were replaced by cries for help.” By the time Amina arrived on the scene, “The men who were dancing happily had turned into blood and scattered parts. The darkness could not conceal the smell of the bodies.”"Beating their drums celebrating the wedding, 11 people commonly known as marginalized Yemenis all vanished at once," Amina continued, " we are not associated with any party to the conflict, our men were not carrying any weapons, just necklaces of Jasmine flowers which were later stained with their blood"Mwatana team found remnants of a bomb tail at the scene of the strike. According to Mwatana-commissioned weapons experts, the remnants belonged to a US-made bomb (the GBU-12 or another GBU model). Saudi Arabia’s $1.29 billion arms deal with the US government in 2015[9] included this type of bomb.[1] UNODA, Arms Trade Treaty, April 2, 2013, accessed on September 4, 2018 https://unoda-web.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/English7.pdf[2] US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, news statement no. 16-48, April 5, 2018, accessed on August 2, 2018 http://www.dsca.mil/sites/default/files/mas/saudi_arabia_16-48.pdf[3] “President Trump and King Salman Sign Arms Deal,” The White House, May 20, 2015, accessed on August 2, 2018 https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/president-trump-king-salman-sign-arms-deal/[4] Mythili Sampthkumar, “Donald Trump to announce $350bn arms deal with Saudi Arabia- one of the largest in history,” The Independent, May 17, 2018, accessed on August 2, 2018 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-saudi-arabia-arms-deal-sale-arab-nato-gulf-states-a7741836.html[5] The International Committee of the Red Cross (1977), the Additional Protocol I to Geneva Conventions, Part IV, Civilian Population and Chapter III Civilian Objects, accessed on August 2, 2018 https://www.icrc.org/ara/resources/documents/misc/5ntce2.htm[6] US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, news statement Transmittal No. 15-57, November 16, 2015, accessed on August 2, 2018 http://www.dsca.mil/sites/default/files/mas/saudi_arabia_15-57_0.pdf[7] Human Rights Watch, Survey of Cluster Munition Policy and Practice, February 1, 2007, accessed on September 4, 2018 https://www.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/arms/cluster0207/cluster0207web.pdf[8] US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Guidance on the Sale of Cluster Munitions, DSCA Policy 11-33, May 19, 2011, accessed on September 4, 2018 http://www.samm.dsca.mil/sites/default/files/DSCA%2011-33.pdf[9] US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, news statement Transmittal No. 15-57, November 16, 2015, accessed on September 5, 2018 http://www.dsca.mil/sites/default/files/mas/saudi_arabia_15-57_0.pdf[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]