ADEN: Yemen’s government on Thursday announced it will end its cooperation with a UN human rights mission, accusing investigators of bias after a report on alleged war crimes.
The government came under fire last month after UN experts highlighted deadly air strikes by the regional Saudi-led coalition supporting it in the war with the Iran-linked Houthi militia.
“The government refuses to extend the mission’s mandate because its findings, outlined in the report, did not meet the standards of professionalism and impartiality or the basic principles of the United Nations,” said a statement carried by the state-run Saba news agency.
It accused the UN group of “turning a blind eye” to the violations of the Shiite Houthi militia, who the government has been battling since 2014.
On Wednesday, the investigators, appointed by the Human Rights Council a year ago, had requested they continue probing the “extremely alarming” situation in Yemen.
The Saudi-led coalition has dismissed as “inaccurate” and “non-neutral” the UN experts’ August 28 report, which accused both government forces and the Houthis of violations against international law.
Yemen’s conflict has left nearly 10,000 people dead since March 2015. It has sparked the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with three quarters of the population — or 22 million people — in need of humanitarian aid, according to UN figures.
Yemen government ends cooperation with UN rights mission
Yemen government ends cooperation with UN rights mission
- It accused the UN group of ‘turning a blind eye’ to the violations of the Shiite Houthi militia
- The Saudi-led coalition has dismissed as ‘inaccurate’ and ‘non-neutral’ the UN experts’ August 28 report
Israeli forces demolish Palestinian house near Salfit
- The house, which was under construction, belonged to Sami Samir Naji
- Israeli authorities conducted a total of 538 demolitions last year
LONDON: Israeli forces demolished a Palestinian house under construction in Kafr Ad-Dik, a town west of Salfit in the northern occupied West Bank, on Wednesday.
Israeli troops, accompanied by military bulldozers, stormed the town and proceeded to the Sha’ab area, where they began demolishing a house that was under construction belonging to Sami Samir Naji, according to the Wafa news agency.
The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission reported that Israeli authorities conducted a total of 538 demolitions last year, which destroyed 1,400 structures. This included 304 inhabited homes, 74 uninhabited homes, 270 economic facilities, and 490 agricultural facilities. The demolitions primarily took place in the governorates of Hebron, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Tubas, and Nablus, Wafa added.
Excluding East Jerusalem, which was occupied and annexed by Israel in 1967, there are about 3 million Palestinians and 500,000 Israeli settlers living in the West Bank.
