The official spokesman of the Joint Incidents and Assessment Team (JIAT) in Yemen Counselor Mansour Al-Mansour reviewed the results of seven recent completed reports.
Counselor Al-Mansour referred to the UN reports issued by international organizations, explaining that JIAT has its views and decisions on the reports issued by the UN and it responds to them through public conferences. JIAT welcomes the UN committees and is ready to discuss with them the reports issued by the team.
This came during a press conference held today at King Salman air base in Riyadh.
Counselor Al-Mansour confirmed that JIAT joins organizations rejecting violations that happen during the military operations, pointing out that the JIAT founded by initiative from the coalition countries, and has independence and impartiality, as it stands at a same distance from all parties to the Yemeni conflict.
During the conference, Counselor Al-Mansour reviewed seven cases, the first of which was the 86th according to the sequence adapted by JIAT. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights report in August 2016 alleged that on 7 July 2015, a plane dropped a bomb on Al-Wahat Mosque, in Lahij governorate, which killed 10 people and wounded 15 others.
He pointed out that based on the procedures followed by JIAT in the subject of verification procedures after JIAT saw all documents related to this incident and the assessment of the evidence, JIAT found that the coalition forces carried out an air mission on a militant target which is about 300 meters away from the Mosque.
Counselor Al-Mansour stated that after the JIAT saw the satellite images, they found that the building was destroyed before almost two months from the date of the allegation.
He added that JIAT concluded that the coalition forces had not targeted Al-Wahat Mosque, as well as the integrity of the procedures followed by coalition forces in targeting the building (civilian objects) and that it conformed to international humanitarian law and customary rules.
In the case of 87, the spokesman for JIAT in Yemen stated that the Human Rights Watch report in November 2015 alleged that on 12 May 2015, at about 04:15 pm, a plane dropped five bombs on Shaja'a market in the village of Zabid, Al-Hudaydah Governorate, which led to the death of 60 civilians and injuring at least 155 others. Human Rights Watch inspected the site 26 July 2015, and reported that three of the bombs hit a three-storey building in the middle of Shaja market, where the first bomb hit a candy store in the building, the second bomb hit a restaurant on the ground floor of the building, and the third bomb hit the second floor and caused it to collapse. The explosions destroyed two other buildings with another restaurant and four grocery stores.
He pointed out that based on the procedures followed by JIAT in the subject of verification procedures after JIAT saw all documents related to this incident and the assessment of the evidence, JIAT found that there were no air missions throughout Al-Hodeidah province, includes the village of Zabid, on the date of the allegation 12May 2015, as well as the day-to-day operations of the Collation Air Force.
In light of this, JIAT concluded that coalition air forces had not bombed Shaja'a market in the village of Zabid.
In case No. 88, the spokesman for JIAT in Yemen stated that the Human Rights Watch report in June 2015 alleged that on 5 May 2015, at about 10:50 pm, a plane dropped three bombs on the cultural center in Saada and a nearby house, which led to the death of 28 people and injuring three others, including 27 from one family. The director of the cultural center reported to Human Rights Watch that the center is used for local celebrations and theater performances and is used as a library, in addition to the local radio station for Ansaarullah group in Saada and which is called (Msairah FM) and used to guide Military forces, but Human Rights Watch, after listening to some of the radio station's programs, found no evidence of its use for that purpose.