Saudi Arabia fatally bombs ANOTHER Yemeni hospital + 18 Billion in US weapons + Bowie

[EdwardBernays]

12. The UN is being blocked by the US

From wiki:

The intervention has received wide-scale criticism and had a dramatical worsening effect on the humanitarian situation, that reached the level of a "humanitarian disaster"[80] or "humanitarian catastrophe".[81][82][83] After the Saudi-led coalition declared the entire Saada Governorate a military target, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen said, air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition on Saada city in Yemen were in breach of international law.[84][85] On 1 July UN declared for Yemen a “level-three” emergency – the highest UN emergency level – for a period of six months.[86][87] The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and UK-based charity Action on Armed Violence declared that almost two-thirds of all civilian casualties between 1 January and 31 July 2015 have been a direct result of airstrikes.[88][89] On August 24, the UN special representative of the secretary-general for children and armed conflict said, that the majority (73%) of the hundreds of children killed in Yemen since the escalation of hostilities in late March 2015 were victims of Saudi coalition-led airstrikes.[90][91] Despite widespread criticism of the high civilian death toll, the U.S. State Department approved a $1.29 billion deal in November for more than 19,000 smart bombs to replenish the Saudi air force’s arsenal.[92][93][94][95] Human rights groups repeatedly blamed the Saudi-led military coalition for killing civilians and destroying health centers and other infrastructure with airstrikes.[96] According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights “a disproportionate amount” of attacks on civilians appeared to be the result of airstrikes carried out by the Saudi-led military coalition forces.[96][97][98][99][100] Human Rights Watch criticized the UN Security Council repeatedly for “remaining almost silent on coalition abuses”.[96][101][102]

The arms embargo on Yemen, which turned into a de facto general blockade implemented by the Saudi-led military coalition and the UN, led to country-wide critical shortages of food and fuel, which were only available for extortionate prices.[103] The de facto blockade left 78% (20 million) of the Yemeni population in urgent need of food, water and medical aid. Aid ships are allowed, but the bulk of commercial shipping, on which the country relies, is blocked.[104] In one occasion, coalition jets prevented an Iranian Red Crescent plane from landing by bombing Sana'a International Airport's (SIA) runway, which blocked aid delivery via air.[105] As of 10 December, more than 2,500,000 people had been internally displaced by the fighting.[106] Many countries evacuated more than 23,000 foreign citizens from Yemen.[107][108][109] More than 168,000 people fled Yemen for Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan and Oman.[109]

On 21 April, the Saudi-led military coalition announced an end to Operation Decisive Storm, saying the intervention's focus would "shift from military operations to the political process".[110][111][112] The kingdom and its coalition partners said they would be launching political and peace efforts, which they called Operation Restoring Hope (Arabic: عملية إعادة الأمل? `Amaliyyat 'I`ādat al-'Amal). However, the coalition did not rule out using force, saying it would respond to threats and prevent Houthi militants from operating within Yemen.[112] Airstrikes and shelling continued under Restoring Hope, including air attacks destroying the main runway at SIA.[113][114] The UNESCO Director-General repeatedly condemned the destructions by air strikes on the UNESCO World Heritage Site Old City of Sana'a and other heavily populated areas.[115][116][117][118] The UN warned in June that the country’s extensive archaeological and historic heritage had been increasingly under threat following a surge in aerial bombing raids in the Old City of Sana'a[119] and added the Old City of Sana’a and Old Walled City of Shibam to the List of World Heritage in Danger in July.[120]

According to Farea Al-Muslim, direct war crimes were committed during the conflict; for example, an IDP camp was hit by a Saudi airstrike, while Houthis sometimes prevented aid workers from giving aid.[338] The UN and human rights groups discussed the possibility that war crimes may have been committed by Saudi Arabia during the air campaign.[339]

HRW wrote that some airstrikes were in apparent violation of the laws of war, such as the March 30 attack on a displaced-persons camp in Mazraq that struck a medical facility and a market. HRW also said that the Houthis had unlawfully deployed forces in densely populated areas and used excessive force against peaceful protesters and journalists. In addition, HRW said that by providing logistical and intelligence assistance to coalition forces, the US may have become a party to the conflict, creating obligations under the laws of war.[340] Other incidents noted by HRW that had been deemed as indiscriminate or disproportionate or "in violation of the laws of war" were: a strike on a dairy factory outside the Red Sea port of Hodaida (31 civilian deaths);[341] a strike that destroyed a humanitarian aid warehouse of the international aid organization Oxfam in Saada;[342] and the coalition’s blockade that kept out fuel.[343] Internationally outlawed cluster bombs were used by the coalition and wounded civilians, based on an HRW report.[344][345][346]

Amnesty International (AI) said that airstrikes hit five densely populated areas (Sa'dah, Sana'a, Hodeidah, Hajjah and Ibb), and "raise concerns about compliance with the rules of international humanitarian law."[347][348] It added that, according to its research, at least 139 people, including at least 97 civilians (of whom 33 were children), were killed during these strikes, and 460 individuals were injured (of whom at least 157 are civilians).[347]

U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, Johannes van der Klaauw, said that coalition airstrikes on Sa'ada city, where many civilians were trapped, were in breach of international humanitarian law, despite calls for civilians to leave the area. Scores of civilians were reportedly killed and thousands forced to flee after the coalition declared the entire governorate a military target, he said.[84][85] Van der Klaauw also said that coalition strikes had targeted schools and hospitals, in breach of international law.[349]

A group of 17 aid agencies condemned the growing intensity of airstrikes in the north on 8 and 9 May 2015. Save the Children's Country Director in Yemen, Edward Santiago, said that the "indiscriminate attacks after the dropping of leaflets urging civilians to leave Sa'ada raises concerns about the possible pattern being established in breach of International Humanitarian Law."[350]

On June 30, HRW reported that several airstrikes were in clear violation of international law. The report confirmed 59 (including 14 women and 35 children) civilian deaths in Saada between April 6 and May 11. The report also highlighted attacks on 6 civilian homes as well as five markets that were deliberate attacks.[330]

On October 27, Médecins Sans Frontières hospital in north Yemen was bombed by the Saudi Arabia-led military coalition.[351] Attacks on medical facilities are forbidden under international humanitarian law.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabian-led_intervention_in_Yemen

So the UN is making noises, but...

"Behind closed doors, the United States has sought to limit international scrutiny of rights abuses in Yemen. Last Friday, the United States blocked a proposal in a U.N. Security Council sanctions committee to have the committee’s chair, Lithuanian U.N. Ambassador Raimonda Murmokaite, approach “all relevant parties to the conflict and stress their responsibility to respect and uphold international humanitarian law and human rights law,” according to Security Council diplomats. The committee also recommended that Murmokaite ask the key players to cooperate with its investigations into potential human rights abuses in Yemen."

http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/10/15/u-s-support-for-saudi-strikes-in-yemen-raises-war-crime-concerns/

The blockade - which the UN is supposedly taking part in - is not really any sort of UN operation.

"On 3 September the United Nations announced it was setting up its own verification method for vessels coming into the country – a process currently run by Saudi Arabia, too slowly many think, with an aim of stopping weapons entering Yemen. However, the UN said that it had not yet secured funding.."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-blockade-starves-yemen-of-vital-supplies-as-bombing-raids-continue-10509460.html

'Commercial cargo ships carrying food, fuel and other vital supplies must be allowed to reach ports in Yemen which is threatened by famine, the UN Security Council said Thursday.

The Saudi-led coalition battling Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen has imposed maritime controls that UN diplomats have described as a blockade preventing imports from reaching Yemen.

"It's vital that we get commercial ships back in," UN aid chief Stephen O'Brien told reporters.'

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/un-pushes-saudi-coalition-allow-ships-yemen

"During the months that followed the aid pledge, the Saudi-led military coalition fighting in Yemen was implicated in a number of bombings that left hundreds of civilians dead. In an August briefing to the Security Council, O'Brien himself said the coalition violated international law when they bombed a major port at Hodeidah, along the Red Sea coast.

Since March, the Saudis have maintained an effective blockade of Yemen, where some 21 million residents are in need of humanitarian assistance. On Monday, O'Brien said the UN had developed a plan for inspections that would commercial cargo to pass through the blockade, but he noted that it still needs $8 million in funding to get off the ground."

https://news.vice.com/article/saudi-arabia-used-the-un-to-brag-about-helping-yemen-while-still-bombing-yemen

So all the UN needs is 8m, and the US, which is supposedly asking SA to let commercial ships come through the blockade - lol - can't help with that?

What's 18 Billion - 8 million?

The truth is that the US is deliberately helping SA stave the population, in the hope that it will end the Houthi rebellion... which is of course a war crime.