Official spokesman of the Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT) in Yemen Legal Counselor Mansour Al-Mansour refuted a number of claims raised by global bodies and international organizations on errors allegedly committed by the Coalition Forces to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen during their military operations in Yemen.
In a press conference held at the Armed Forces Officers Club in Riyadh Wednesday, Al-Mansour reviewed the results of assessing five incidents included in those claims as follows:
With regard to what was observed by (JIAT) in the open sources about the report issued by (Doctors for Human Rights) dated (March 2020), which included that on (18/01/2016) Coalition forces aircraft attacked (Ketaf Rural Hospital) in (Ketaf and Al-Baqa) directorate of (Saada) governorate, the attack led to a temporary suspension of services, the hospital was then rehabilitated by (UNICEF).
JIAT vetted the incident, and reviewed all documents, including air tasking orders, daily mission schedule, mission execution procedures, after mission reports, video recordings of the executed mission, satellite images, open sources, coordinates provided by the representative of the legitimate Yemeni government in JIAT and other relevant agencies for the health centers and hospitals contained in the report, JIAT, after assessment of evidences, found that (Ketaf Rural Hospital) is located in the city of (Ketaf) in the eastern part of (Sa'da) governorate, and is in the Coalition Forces No Strike List (NSL).
By studying the air missions carried out by the Coalition forces on (18/01/2016), which is the date of the claim, JIAT found that the Coalition forces did not carry out any air missions in (Ketaf) city, and that the closest military target the Coalition forces dealt with was (42.5) kms away from (Ketaf Rural Hospital) of the claim.
And on studying the air missions carried out by the Coalition forces one day before and a day after the date of the claim, JIAT found the Coalition forces did not carry out any air missions in (Ketaf) city. JIAT specialists studied the satellite images of the claimed site (Ketaf Rural Hospital), after the date of the claim, and found the claim consists of a building and its annexes, surrounded by a fence. And there are no signs of destruction or damages caused by aerial targeting on (Ketaf Rural Hospital) building.
Also, by comparing the allegation with the air mission carried out on the day of the claim, JIAT found the site of (Ketaf Rural Hospital) does not correspond to the site of the military target, as the claimed site is in (Ketaf and Al-Baqa) directorate, while the military target is in (Sahar) directorate, (42.5) km away from each other. Hence by logical deduction, JIAT found that Coalition forces did not target (Ketaf Rural Hospital) in (Ketaf and Al-Baqa) directorate of (Saada) governorate, on (18/01/2016) as claimed.
With regard to what was received by (JIAT), that on (03/09/2015) Coalition forces targeted (Athban Alasasiah School) in (Huraib) directorate of (Marib) governorate, which resulted in its destruction.
JIAT vetted the incident, and reviewed all documents, including air tasking orders, daily mission schedule, mission execution procedures, after mission reports, satellite images, field visit by members of JIAT to (Marib) governorate in Yemen, hearing witnesses testimonies about the incident, inspection of (Athban Alasasiah School) of the claim, Coalition forces rules of engagement, provisions and principles of International Humanitarian Law and its customary rules, and after assessment of evidences, JIAT found that (Athban Alasasiah School) of the claim is located in the north part of (Huraib) directorate, and in the south part of (Marib) governorate, about (60) kms away from (Marib) city, in a semi-isolated area, and no buildings adjacent to it.
The third incident is with regard to what JIAT observed in the open sources regarding the report issued by (Doctors for Human Rights) dated (March 2020), that on (29/05/2015) Coalition aircraft struck (Ghadran Health Center), at the time the center was under construction, and Houthis were using it as a military base.
JIAT vetted the incident, and reviewed all documents, including air tasking orders, daily mission schedule, mission execution procedures, after mission reports, video recording for the executed mission, satellite images, and the coordinates of the health centers and hospitals contained in the report, provided by all agencies and after assessment of evidences, JIAT found that (Ghadhran Health Center) is located in north part of (Bani Hashish) directorate, east of (Sanaa) city, and that on the date of the claim it was a building under construction, it was not functioning, and was not in the Coalition Forces No Strike List (NSL) at the time.
With regard to the statement issued by the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator and humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, on (March 18, 2020), that on (13/03/2020), missiles hit two buildings at (Al-Thawrah General Hospital), which serves hundreds of thousands of Yemenis in (Taiz) city.
JIAT vetted the incident, and reviewed all documents, including air tasking orders, daily mission schedule, daily missions of the Coalition Surface Forces, satellite images, open sources, Coalition Forces No Strike List (NSL), Coalition Forces rules of engagement, provisions and principles of International Humanitarian Law and its customary rules, and after assessment of evidences, JIAT found that (Al-Thawrah Hospital) is located in the north-eastern part of (Taiz) city, within the urban area, and is in the Coalition Forces No Strike List (NSL).
With regard to what JIAT observed in the open sources regarding the report issued by (Doctors for Human Rights) dated (March 2020), that on (09/07/2015) coalition aircraft attacked (Alwaht Hospital), which was occupied by Houthi fighters and used as a military base at the time, the attack caused severe damage to the facility.
JIAT vetted the incident, and reviewed all documents, including air tasking orders, daily mission schedule, mission execution procedures, after mission reports, video recordings of the executed mission, satellite images, open sources, and the coordinates provided by all agencies and after assessment of evidences, JIAT found that (Alwaht Hospital) is located in the north part of (Alwaht) city, and is in the Coalition Forces No Strike List (NSL).
The JIAT said, after reviewing the identified incidents, said they took cognizance of the complaints and verified the truth of the statements with their inquiry. After studying all the evidences and presenting proofs to the contrary, they said that all these claims do not stand up in the face of many discrepancies. They also said that they are, on the face of the presented evidences, within rights to carry out their operations within the accepted and set parameters after making a through study of the claims by the global bodies and the evidences in hand.
