The UN does not base its reports on solid “evidence,” the spokesman for the Arab coalition told Al Arabiya News Channel Friday, after a report from the international body alleged that the alliance had caused the vast majority of civilian deaths in Yemen.
“Now there is a government that has influence on over 90 percent (of the Yemenis). So how come they were not contacted, why blame the coalition,” said Brig. Gen. Ahmad Al-Assiri, in reference to the internationally recognized government led by Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
He said: “What are the numbers and evidence for the UN?”
While expressing his backing to international institutions such as the UN, the spokesman said “the international body depended on accounts and it is not communicating with the legitimate government.”
Al-Assiri also asked why “official figures collected by the legitimate government recognized by the international community are ignored.”
“It is impossible that the UN derives its information from Houthi social media and its other media outlets,” he added.
“Our goal is to lift the suffering of the Yemeni people.”
The spokesman also criticized UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein for not exerting further efforts to reach a “permanent political solution.”
The spokesman also said the coalition’s airstrikes on a market in Haja province, targeted the Houthis. Tribal sources on the ground also told news agencies that dozens among those killed were fighters of Houthis.
Saudi Arabia announced on Thursday that the coalition was winding down its major combat operations in Yemen.
The coalition will now work on “long-term” plans to bring stability to the country, Al-Assiri said earlier.
Since late March last year, the Arab coalition has bombed Iranian-backed Houthi militias and forces allied to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in a bid to support the legitimate government of President Hadi.(Arab News)
Link: http://www.arabnews.com/featured/news/897561
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