Saudis Now Say No Civilians Killed in Yemen Airstrike

UN quietly removes Saudis from human rights blacklist

Saudi Arabia’s campaign in Yemen, killing huge numbers of civilians and getting away with it, continued apace this week, with a Monday Saudi strike in Saada initially reported to have killed 12 civilians, four of them children, with the Saudi coalition initially offering “condolences” but defending it as legal.

By Wednesday, the Saudis had revised the whole narrative, saying that no civilians were killed, and that the entire operation was completely legitimate. The Saudis have been criticized for the large number of slain children in the war.

But not too criticized. After years of Saudi officials freaking out at inclusion on the UN blacklist for nations that violate the rights of children at war, the UN has now quietly removed them from this year’s blacklist.

The UN says they’re happy with Saudi Arabia killing somewhat fewer children this year, though in practice this is likely because the fits they have every year over this list mean they never stick anyhow.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.