Inside Story

Who can protect Yemen’s civilians?

With civilians bearing the brunt of conflict, there are calls for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen to be blacklisted.

Yemen is being pounded on an almost daily basis from air and land.

The latest attack came on Friday when a Saudi-led coalition air raid hit a residential area, killing at least 14 people including five children.

The alliance admitted in a statement on Saturday that “a technical mistake” was behind the accident. 

On Wednesday, a hotel north of the capital Sanaa, was also hit, killing 41 people and injuring many more. 

The Saudi-led bloc said those it killed were Houthi rebels, but the United Nations disputes the claims and wants an impartial investigation into the attacks.

Amnesty International says the coalition “rained down bombs on civilians while they slept”.

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross condemned the latest raid as “outrageous”.

What is the international community doing about this continuing carnage?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests:

Nigel Timmins – Humanitarian director for Oxfam

Afshin Shahi – Senior lecturer in Middle East Politics at the University of Bradford

Adam Baron – Visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations’ Middle East and North Africa Programme