The Saudi-led coalition air raid on a children's bus in Saada in Yemen early last month was a clear war crime, Human Rights Watch said, while the coalition admitted the raid was unjustified.
The organization said in a statement that the coalition carried out several raids in Yemen since 2015 in violation of the laws of war, and that these raids were implemented without adequate follow-up investigations.
On the other hand, the Watch confirmed that these raids put weapons suppliers under the risk of complicity in war crimes, and invited the countries that supply arms to Riyadh to freeze sales to it immediately, noting that it identified ammunition of US origin used by coalition forces in 24 locations in Yemen.
The leading human rights group concluded its statement by calling for support for the UN investigation into violations by all parties to the conflict in Yemen.
Confession and apology
The Saudi-UAE coalition admitted yesterday that the raid on the children's bus in Saada was unjustified and was based on false intelligence.
In a precedent, the Saudi-UAE alliance announced its acceptance of the results of its team's assessment of the incidents, expressing regret for the mistakes and pledging to take legal action to hold accountable those found to have committed errors.
The raid, carried out by a coalition aircraft in a market in the province of Saada, killed 51 people, including 40 children, and wounded 79 people, including 56 children.
Civilian casualties
Since its operations in Yemen in March 2015, human rights groups have accused the coalition of causing hundreds of civilian deaths with strikes that hit civilian targets.
The United Nations estimates that the war, which has been going on for more than three years, has claimed more than 10,000 lives, including more than 2,000 children.
The Houthis confirm that the coalition raid hit a school bus, denying that the target bus was carrying elements of the Houthis.