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Saudi-led coalition says will work to reduce Yemen civilian deaths
A man walks through the debris outside a tea factory after it was hit by Saudi-led air strikes in Yemen's capital Sanaa, January 30, 2016. PHOTO BY REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi
31/01/2016
DUBAI (Reuters) - A Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen regrets civilian deaths, which it said were unintentional, and is investigating the matter and improving its targeting mechanisms, Saudi Arabia's mission to the United Nations said on Sunday.
"(The coalition) greatly regrets civilian casualties in Yemen," the Saudi mission said on its official Twitter page.
A U.N. report seen by Reuters on Wednesday said the Saudi-led coalition has targeted civilians in Yemen, documenting 119 sorties it said related to violations of international humanitarian law.
"The Arab coalition announces the formation of a high-level independent committee ... to evaluate the events, identification and targeting mechanisms and developing them," the Saudi mission's statement said.
In March, the Saudi-led alliance began a military campaign in Yemen to prevent Houthi fighters, whom it sees as a proxy for Iran, from taking complete control of Yemen after seizing much of the north.
The Houthis deny any backing from Tehran and accuse the coalition of launching a war of aggression.
Around 6,000 people, about half of them civilians according to the United Nations, have been killed in fighting and air strikes since the intervention began.
(Reporting By Noah Browning; Editing by Dominic Evans)
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