Informed Comment Homepage

Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion

Header Right

  • Featured
  • US politics
  • Middle East
  • Environment
  • US Foreign Policy
  • Energy
  • Economy
  • Politics
  • About
  • Archives
  • Submissions

© 2025 Informed Comment

  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Donald Trump
UN Condemns 'Shocking' and 'Terrible' US-Backed Saudi Coalition Bombing That Killed 31 Yemeni Civilians

UN Condemns ‘Shocking’ and ‘Terrible’ US-Backed Saudi Coalition Bombing That Killed 31 Yemeni Civilians

Common Dreams 02/18/2020

Tweet
Share
Reddit
Email

By Jake Johnson, staff writer | –

(Commondreams.org) – “Those who continue to sell arms to the warring parties must realize that by supplying weapons for this war, they contribute to making atrocities like today’s all too common.”

The United Nations and humanitarian aid groups condemned the U.S.-backed Saudi-led coalition for carrying out airstrikes Saturday that killed 31 civilians and wounded dozens more, including women and children, in Yemen’s Al-Jawf province.

“We share our deep condolences with the families of those killed and we pray for the speedy recovery of everyone who has been injured in these terrible strikes,” Lise Grande, U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, said in a statement. “So many people are being killed in Yemen—it’s a tragedy and it’s unjustified. Under international humanitarian law parties which resort to force are obligated to protect civilians.”

“Yemen is a hellish place for children. This latest attack must be urgently and independently investigated, and perpetrators held to account.”
—Xavier Joubert, Save the Children Yemen

“Five years into this conflict and belligerents are still failing to uphold this responsibility,” added Grande. “It’s shocking.”

Xavier Joubert, director of aid group Save the Children Yemen, demanded an investigation into the airstrikes and said nations providing the weaponry for such attacks must share the blame. The United States is the largest supplier of weapons to the Saudi regime, whose years-long assault on Yemen has helped create the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

“The war shows no signs of slowing down. Yemen is a hellish place for children,” said Joubert. “The reports of today indicate that once more explosive weapons make no distinction between fighters and civilians. This latest attack must be urgently and independently investigated, and perpetrators held to account.”

“We call on all parties to the conflict to adhere to international laws and standards, and to protect children on the ground,” Joubert continued. “Those who continue to sell arms to the warring parties must realize that by supplying weapons for this war, they contribute to making atrocities like today’s all too common.”

The Saudi airstrikes came after Houthi rebels claimed to have shot down a Saudi Tornado jet Friday in Al-Jawf province.

Following its bombing campaign Saturday, the Saudi-led coalition issued a statement acknowledging the “possibility of collateral damage”—a common euphemism for civilian deaths.

Eighty percent of Yemen’s population—over 24 million people—are in dire need of humanitarian aid and 14 million are on the brink of famine, according to the United Nations.

In a 2018 report, Save the Children estimated that 85,000 Yemeni children under the age of five have died from malnutrition since 2015 as the Saudi-led coalition has bombed the country—often hitting schools and hospitals—and restricted the flow of food and medicine.

Last April, as Common Dreams reported, U.S. President Donald Trump vetoed a measure that would have ended American military support for the Saudi-led assault on Yemen.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who helped lead the push for the Yemen War Powers Resolution in the House of Representatives last year, warned at the time that Trump’s veto would risk “the lives of millions of Yemeni civilians to famine, deadly airstrikes, and the war crimes of the Saudi regime.”

Via Commondreams.org

Our work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License. Feel free to republish and share widely.

—–

Bonus Video added by Informed Comment:

Al Jazeera English: “Dozens of civilians killed in Saudi-UAE-led air raids in Yemen”

Filed Under: Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia, Yemen

About the Author

Common Dreams is a 501(c)3 nonprofit U.S.-based progressive news website that publishes news stories, editorials, and a newswire of current breaking news. It was founded in 1996 by political consultant Craig Brown, and the News Center launched the following year, in May 1997, by Brown and his wife Lina Newhouser (1951–2008). Brown, a native of Massachusetts, has a long history in progressive politics.

Primary Sidebar

Support Independent Journalism

Click here to donate via PayPal.

Personal checks should be made out to Juan Cole and sent to me at:

Juan Cole
P. O. Box 4218,
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2548
USA
(Remember, make the checks out to “Juan Cole” or they can’t be cashed)

STAY INFORMED

Join our newsletter to have sharp analysis delivered to your inbox every day.
Warning! Social media will not reliably deliver Informed Comment to you. They are shadowbanning news sites, especially if "controversial."
To see new IC posts, please sign up for our email Newsletter.

Social Media

Bluesky | Instagram

Popular

  • Iran's Hypersonic Missiles Hit Israeli Refinery, Military Sites, as Israel does the same to Tehran
  • Iraqi Shiites Demand Expulsion of US Troops after Israel Attacks Iran
  • Why did Israel defy Trump – and risk a major War – by striking Iran now? And what happens next?
  • Israel's Netanyahu banks on TACO Trump as he Launches War on Iran to disrupt Negotiations
  • A Pariah State? Western Nations Sanction Israeli Cabinet Members

Gaza Yet Stands


Juan Cole's New Ebook at Amazon. Click Here to Buy
__________________________

Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires



Click here to Buy Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires.

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam


Click here to Buy The Rubaiyat.
Sign up for our newsletter

Informed Comment © 2025 All Rights Reserved