Yemeni rescue workers carry a victim on a stretcher amid the rubble of a destroyed funeral hall building following reported airstrikes by Saudi-led coalition air-planes on the capital Sanaa on October 8, 2016.

Yemeni rescue workers carry a victim on a stretcher amid the rubble of a destroyed funeral hall building following reported airstrikes by Saudi-led coalition air-planes on the capital Sanaa on October 8, 2016.
Photo Credit: MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP/Getty Images

Canada condemns deadly air strike in Yemen

Canada has joined the United States in a rare condemnation of a deadly air strike carried out by the U.S.-trained and equipped Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

On Saturday, an air strike on a funeral service in the rebel-held Sana’a killed some 142 people and injured hundreds more.

“Canada condemns the attack on a funeral hall in Sana’a, Yemen and extends its deepest condolences on the resulting loss of life,” Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion said in a statement.

“The Saudi-led coalition must move forward now on its commitment to investigate this incident.”

‘An immediate cessation of hostilities’

Anthony Fenton, an author, a PhD candidate at York University who studies Canada’s foreign policy, and a vocal critic of relations with the monarchies of the Arabian Peninsula, said that while the statement from Ottawa condemning the attack is welcome, there was no mention in Dion’s statement of a review of Canadian materiel defence support for the Saudis and their coalition partners.

“That Dion appears to be taking at face value the Saudi coalition claim that they will launch an investigation, is troubling, as they always seem to exonerate themselves,” Fenton said. “Rather, Ottawa and the entire international community should demand an independent investigation an immediate cessation of hostilities and negotiations for peace.”

Yemeni mourners carry the coffin of Abdel Qader Hilal, the mayor of the capital Sanaa, on October 10, 2016 after he was killed in an air strike on a funeral in the Yemeni capital three days ago.
Yemeni mourners carry the coffin of Abdel Qader Hilal, the mayor of the capital Sanaa, on October 10, 2016 after he was killed in an air strike on a funeral in the Yemeni capital three days ago. © MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP/Getty Images
‘Not a blank check’

The Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Arabia said it “regretted” the air strike but stopped short of accepting responsibility for the attack.

Saturday’s strike—one of the deadliest in Yemen since the Western backed Saudi-led coalition of mostly Sunni Arab states began operations against Iranian backed Shia Houthi rebels in March 2015—prompted strong criticism from the United States, which is increasingly worried it could be implicated in war crimes for supporting the Saudi-led air campaign in Yemen that has killed thousands of civilians, Reuters reported on Monday.

Washington warned Riyadh that it would review its support for the campaign to “better align with U.S. principles, values and interests.”

According to Reuters, since March 2015, Washington has authorized more than $22.2 billion US in weapons sales to Riyadh, much of it yet to be delivered. That includes a $1.29 billion US sale of precision munitions announced in November 2015 and specifically meant to replenish stocks used in Yemen.

However, U.S. officials have warned Riyadh that “U.S. security cooperation with Saudi Arabia is not a blank check.”

“We have repeatedly expressed our deep concern about airstrikes that allegedly killed and injured civilians and also the heavy humanitarian toll paid by the Yemeni people,” National Security Council spokesman Ned Price was quoted by Reuters.

The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also faced increasing criticism for pledging to honour a deal signed by the previous Conservative government to sell Saudi Arabia $15 billion worth of advanced light armoured personnel carriers (LAV 6.0).

Civilians pay the price
 Yemenis attend the funeral of members of the same family on October 8, 2016 a day after they were killed in a reported airstrike by Saudi-led coalition air-planes that hit their house in Bajil in the western province of Houdieda.
Yemenis attend the funeral of members of the same family on October 8, 2016 a day after they were killed in a reported airstrike by Saudi-led coalition air-planes that hit their house in Bajil in the western province of Houdieda. © STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images

The civil war in Yemen between Houthi rebels and forces loyal to the government of President Abd Rabbuh Hadi supported by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies, has killed nearly 4,000 civilians.

According to the United Nations human rights office, Saudi-led airstrikes on markets, hospitals and schools account for 60 per cent of the death toll.

Dion called on all parties in Yemen to avoid an escalation of violence.

“Canada urges all parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law, and to commit to political dialogue and to a lasting cessation of hostilities to halt the tragic loss of civilian life,” Dion said.

The warnings came as the Houthis stepped up cross-border artillery attacks, including launching Soviet-made Scud ballistic missiles, into Saudi Arabia on Sunday in apparent retaliation for the attack on the funeral.

Saudi air defences intercepted the missiles and destroyed them without any damage to people or property, the coalition said in a statement.

With files from Reuters

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