WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd September, 2018) Washington welcomes the Saudi-led coalition's admission that its airstrike that hit a bus in Yemen's Saada province in early August was unjustified and appeals to all parties of the conflict to abide by the International Humanitarian Law, US State Department spokeswoman Healther Nauert said in a statement on Sunday.
On Saturday, the Saudi-led coalition's Joint Incident Assessment Team admitted that the coalition's airstrike was unjustified because the target did not pose a military threat at that time and called on the coalition to bring to justice people responsible for the mistake and provide assistance to the civilians affected by the airstrike.
According to Nauert's statement, the assessment team's announcement was their first step toward guaranteeing transparency and accountability.
"We continue to call on all sides to abide by the Law of Armed Conflict [International Humanitarian Law], to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure, and thoroughly investigate and ensure accountability for any violations. It is imperative that all parties work toward a comprehensive political solution to avoid further harm to the Yemeni people," Nauert's statement said as quoted by the official website of the US State Department.
The department also expressed support for UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths, who is preparing a meeting on the Yemeni conflict's settlement in Geneva with the participation of the opposing sides.
"All sides must engage constructively and in good faith in order to work toward a secure, stable, and peaceful Yemen," the statement added.
On August 9, the coalition's airstrike hit a school bus full of children, killing 50 people, mostly minors, and wounding 77 others, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The deadly strike was just one of many others carried out by the coalition against the Houthi rebels, who are engaged in a civil war with the government supported by the coalition. According to the UN estimates, over 6,500 civilians have died so far as a result of over a three-year-long conflict.
