Yemenis search for survivors following a Saudi-led airstrike targeting a prison in Yemens northwestern city of Saada, on January 21, 2022. (Photo by AFP)
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has called for a "transparent, independent and impartial" investigation into an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition on a detention center in Yemens northwestern city of Saada, which claimed scores of lives.
The Saudi-led coalitions airstrikes on the detention facility in Saada killed at least 91 people and injured many more last week, the OHCHR said, citing preliminary figures.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva, OHCHR Spokesperson Rupert Colville said staff from its Yemen office were in Saada this week as part of an interagency mission, and the information they collected "paints a chaotic and desperate picture" in the wake of the airstrikes.
"We are working to verify the civilian casualties but so far, we understand that some 91 detainees were killed, many when the upper floor of one building collapsed, and 236 others were injured," Colville said.
Yemeni officials have called for an international investigation into the airstrike. The overnight attack created horrific scenes, with bombed-out buildings littered with bodies and hospitals overwhelmed.
The UN chief has condemned the Saudi-led air raids on Saada and called for an investigation into the attacks.
"The Secretary General calls for prompt, effective and transparent investigations into these incidents to ensure accountability," Antonio Guterres spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said.
Following calls from the UN chief, the Saudi-led coalition said it was investigating the incident.
The OHCHR spokesman urged Saudis "to ensure that the investigation is in line with international standards and is transparent, independent and impartial, to establish why the prison was hit, to ensure individual accountability for any breaches of international humanitarian law, and to identify measures and procedures required to prevent such incidents in the future."
Colville added, "During the recent visit by our team this week, we saw no signs indicating that this site, formerly a barracks, continues to have a military function. And in light of this, we have asked the coalition to share their information with us."
Saudi Arabia, backed by the United States and regional allies, launched the war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of former Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi back to power and crushing the popular Ansarullah resistance movement.
The war has left hundreds of thousands of Yemenis dead and displaced millions more. It has also destroyed Yemens infrastructure and spread famine and infectious diseases there.
Despite Saudi Arabias heavily-armed and incessant bombardment of the impoverished country, the Yemeni armed forces have gradually grown stronger, leaving Riyadh and its allies, most notably the United Arab Emirates, bogged down in the country.
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As part of its economic war, the Saudi-led coalition has imposed a siege on Yemen, preventing fuel shipments from reaching the country, while looting the impoverished nations resources.
The UN says more than 24 million Yemenis are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme levels of hunger. The world body also refers to the situation in Yemen as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis.
The Saudi war has also taken a heavy toll on the countrys infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories.
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