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Yemeni fighters from the Popular Resistance Committees, members of the Yemen-backed and Saharan-supported government, are attending a graduation ceremony in Yemen's city of Taez on 27 October. (Ahmad al-Basha / AFP / Getty Images)
CAIRE – In its Saudi version of the war in Yemen, the Saudi-led coalition carefully chooses the targets for its air strikes. The growing number of civilians declared by the United Nations and humanitarian groups is extremely exaggerated. The same is true of the imminent famine caused by the war. And the coalition is not interfering in any way with humanitarian aid or assistance to the beleaguered economy of Yemen.
But now, this story is thin, say the critics.
The killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul on October 2 by Saudi agents – and repeated refusal by Saudi Arabia to know everything about his fate – raises new concerns about the Saudi story of the kingdom's campaigning. Yemen.
"This opened the door to doubt about the whole Saudi version of the war in Yemen," said Elisabeth Kendall, a Yemen scholar at Oxford University. "He is no longer able to just tell the world what he wants him to think without the world now being suspicious and skeptical."
As doubts multiply, they raise new questions as to whether the Trump administration can trust what Saudi Arabia is telling the US authorities about its conduct of the war in Yemen, particularly its role. in civilian casualties and human rights violations. Administration officials rely on Saudi information to urge US lawmakers to allow more sales of US arms and other forms of military assistance to the kingdom.
The United States is supporting Saudi forces in their fight against a rebel insurgency by refueling, providing intelligence and logistical support, as well as billions of dollars in arms sales.
Since the start of the war in 2015, the Saudi-led coalition has been working to oust Houthi rebels who control northern Yemen and re-establish the internationally recognized Yemeni government. While Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Muslim countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, support government forces, Shiite rebels are backed by Iran Shiite.
Yemenis pass past historic buildings in the capital's old district, Sanaa, on October 27. (Yahya Arhab / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock)
Last month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has certified in Congress that the Saudi-led coalition is doing "everything in its power to reduce the risk of civilian casualties". A senior White House official, speaking in Cairo last week, said the two men had "consulted various sources" and were certain in their conclusion.
These "sources" include the Saudis themselves, who are the only ones investigating the civilian casualties caused by air strikes. And the Saudi-led coalition has found that it has killed civilians, which contradicts information gathered by the United Nations and humanitarian groups.
The UN human rights office estimates that more than 16,000 civilians have been killed or wounded since the start of the war, most of them by air strikes. The coalition led by Saudi Arabia is the only party to the conflict to use military jets.
The Independent Location and Armed Conflict Event Project reports that the death toll is much higher, estimating that more than 50,000 civilians died during this period.
In most cases of reported civilian deaths, no investigation follows. Saudi officials have consistently stated that civilian casualties were accidental, calling them collateral damage in the course of strikes against carefully chosen military targets.
"It does not look like an accident anymore, just as Khashoggi was not an accident," Kendall said.
Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post's Global Opinions section and a critic of Saudi leaders, was killed after joining the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. While Saudi officials have been saying for more than two weeks that Khashoggi had left the consulate alive, they later admitted that he had died within the mission, but initially attributed his death to a fight. Saudi officials now say they accept the Turkish investigators' conclusion that his death was planned murder.
President Trump said last week that the Saudis were engaged in "one of the worst [coverups] in the history of cover-ups. "
Emily Thornberry, a British legislator, told her country's parliament that "the Saudis have repeated the same trends" in the way they handled the Khashoggi massacre and managed the Yemeni campaign.
"When significant civilian casualties are reported, they initially deny that the information is true, and then they deny any responsibility," said Thornberry, a Labor Party member of the opposition. "And when the evidence becomes irrefutable, they say it's a terrible mistake. They blame the dishonest elements, promise that they will be punished and say that it will not happen again – until next time, when it will be the case. "
In Cairo, a senior White House official said US-Saudi relations, traditionally very close, could be improved. "I think we usually need more transparency," said the manager.
Regarding the conflict in Yemen in particular, the official said that the administration was "confident" in the information provided by Saudi Arabia. "With regard to Yemen, we have good visibility," said the official to a small group of journalists, expressing them on condition of anonymity, in order to comment freely.
The continuation of the conflict is also at the root of an increasingly serious humanitarian crisis this year. At the US Security Council, US Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock warned that at least 14 million Yemenis, nearly half of the country's population, were on the verge of starvation. More than 3 million Yemenis have fled their homes while a cholera outbreak is raging, while thousands of people have died from preventable diseases.
Humanitarian agencies accused the Saudi-led coalition of contributing to the crisis by waging an economic war in Yemen. According to Yemen, more than 18,000 air strikes have occurred since the beginning of the war, and one-third of them have targeted civilian sites, including farms, markets, treatment facilities, and more. water, power plants, hospitals, clinics and food warehouses. Data project.
At the same time, the coalition has imposed import restrictions, targeting in particular the rebel-controlled port of Hodeidah, a vital gateway for imports of food, fuel, medicine and drugs. other supplies in the country.
The resultant fuel shortage has in turn led to increased transportation costs, making food unaffordable for most Yemenis. The Houthis are also at fault because they impose heavy taxes on import companies and at checkpoints.
"Yemen has long been bombarded by airstrikes and strangled warfare tactics," Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said in a statement. "Mass starvation is a deadly by-product of the actions of the warring parties and the western nations that support them. The way the war is waged has systematically stifled civilians by making less food available and affordable for millions of people. "
There is no direct US surveillance of how the US Army's refueled aircraft carry out raids or the use of US-supplied bombs. US officials say they're relying on the Saudis to get this type of information.
In August, a senior Trump administration official said it was "possible" that fueled jets in the United States killed civilians, "but we do not know it."
"The Saudis should provide us with information, but they do not provide it to us normally," said the official.
These comments were made following an airstrike by a Saudi coalition last August that killed more than 40 schoolchildren in a bus in northern Yemen. When the United Nations called for an independent investigation, the Trump administration said it preferred to let the Saudis conduct their own investigation. "Let the Saudis have the opportunity to investigate and see what happens," the official said.
The Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed al-Jaber, arrives on October 29 in the Yemeni port of Aden to oversee fuel supply by Saudi Arabia. (Saleh Al-Obeidi / AFP / Getty Images)
The Saudis first stated that the Houthi rebels were on the bus and that the vehicle was a legitimate target, describing the children as collateral damage. It was only after international pressure, fueled by images of children's charred bodies, that the Saudis accepted responsibility.
In August, a report by US investigators called on countries to stop providing weapons for use in war. This has prompted Amnesty International warn in a statement that the United States, "by continuing to transfer weapons to its Saudi allies, may become an accomplice to war crimes", which increases the quality of information provided by the Saudis to the United States.
Some critics of Saudi leaders see the same campaign of brutality in the Yemeni campaign and Khashoggi's murder. They cite more and more what they say is the hand of the powerful Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in both cases. These critics also see parallels in how the Saudis reacted to reports of Yemeni civilian casualties and the killing of Khashoggi.
"It's exactly the same pattern we saw here," said Thornberry UK lawmaker, referring to Khashoggi's assassination, "which speaks of a crown prince who takes his allies for fools." and is relying on the fact that his lies will be believed, he will be exonerated and everyone will resume his activities once the advertisement has fallen. "
Read more:
After the journalist's disappearance, we focus on the dark and intimidating side of the young prince
As US-backed forces resume Yemen offensive, UK warns of "incalculable human cost"
Saudi-led coalition says on rare occasion that air strike killed Yemeni children last month
Today's coverage of Swiss Post correspondents around the world
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