Latest horrific incident in Yemen demands 'a full inquiry,' Ban says, urging probe into funeral bombing

10 October 2016 - Outraged by Saturday's bombing of a funeral in Yemen, top United Nations officials are strengthening their calls for the establishment of an independent body to probe alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws in the war-ravaged country.

Describing the attack in Sana'a as outrageous, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein today reiterated his urgent call for creating an international investigative body; a call that was supported by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

"Since the beginning of this conflict in Yemen, weddings, marketplaces, hospitals, schools - and now mourners at a funeral - have been hit, resulting in massive civilian casualties and zero accountability for those responsible," the High Commissioner said in a news release issued by his Office (OHCHR) in Geneva.

"This deadly attack comes just weeks after the UN Human Rights Council, for the second year in a row, dismissed my call to take decisive action to create an international, independent investigative body to look into extremely serious alleged violations of international law, including possible war crimes, in Yemen," the UN human rights chief added.

He stressed that the Human Rights Council's inability to take decisive action by setting up an international investigation is contributing to a climate of impunity and the occurrence of violations "on a regular basis."

At UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Ban told reporters that "aerial attacks by the Saudi-led coalition have already caused immense carnage, and destroyed much of the country's medical facilities and other vital civilian infrastructure."

Also according to the release, it is unclear how many people were present but the hall has a capacity of up to 1,000 people, and witnesses described a hall packed with families, including children. A large number of political and military leaders affiliated with the Houthis and former president Saleh were among those present, and many were killed.

"The international community has a legal and moral duty to react robustly to the increasingly horrific levels of civilian casualties in Yemen, just as it has in many other situations," Mr. Zeid said. "We take note of the recent letter sent by Saudi Arabia to the Security Council indicating its readiness to take corrective and appropriate measures to ensure accountability, including the release of the results of the ongoing investigations into this incident, in the near future."

The High Commissioner also called on all States - which are contributing to the conduct of hostilities in Yemen in any way - to seriously reconsider their support to the parties to the conflict, urging all sides to resume dialogue and to work towards a sustainable ceasefire.

According to the release, since March 2015, at least 4,125 civilians have been killed and 7,207 injured in Yemen. The number of casualties has risen dramatically since the collapse of the cessation of hostilities agreement in August. During September 2016, 379 civilians were killed and injured. Already, in just the first ten days of October, the rate has tripled - with 369 civilian casualties.