Official Spokesman of the Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT) in Yemen Legal Counsellor Mansour Al-Mansour refuted a number of claims raised by global bodies and international organizations on errors allegedly committed by the Coalition Forces to Support Legitimacy in Yemen during their military operations inside Yemen. In a press conference held at the Armed Forces Officers Club in Riyadh today, Al-Mansour reviewed the results of assessing four incidents included in those claims as follows: With regard to what was stated in the MSF memo, that at (8:30) am on (21/11/2017), an airstrike hit near (a hospital supported by the organization) at a distance of (380) meters from the hospital in (Abs) city of (Hajjah) governorate, the explosion opened the doors of the operating theater inside the hospital, causing panic for patients and impeding the provision of medical care to patients, the impact of the airstrike was a few meters from the main road used at that time by MSF to move to and from the hospital. The JIAT vetted the incident, and reviewed all documents, including procedures and rules of engagement, daily mission schedule, after mission report, satellite images, provisions and principles of International Humanitarian Law and its customary rules, and assessment of evidences, JIAT found that the Coalition Forces received intelligence information from ground sources inside Yemen about the presence of (fighting elements gatherings) of Al-Houthi armed militia in a specific location in (Abs) city of (Hajjah) governorate. At (8:30) am on Tuesday (21/11/2017), the Coalition Forces carried out an air mission against a military target consisting of fighting elements gatherings of Al-Houthi armed militia, using one guided bomb that hit the target. By studying the documents related to the information from the MSF memo, and the documents held by the Coalition Forces, JIAT found the following: a. The hospital, which is supported by MSF (place of the claim), is located in the north of (Abs) city. b. The hospital which is supported by MSF (place of the claim) is listed in the Coalition Forces No Strike List (NSL). By analyzing satellite images of the claim sites and the location of the military target after the date of the claim, the following was found: 1. The military target is located in a semi-isolated area from the buildings. 2. Traces of aerial targeting at the site of the military target. 3. The hospital which is supported by MSF of the claim is located, (920) meters away from the military target, and at a safe distance outside the range of the side effects of targeting. 4. The paved road mentioned in the claim is (440) meters away from the military target, and at a safe distance outside the range of the side effects of targeting. 5. There are no signs of damages to the (hospital) building. 6. There are no signs of damage to the buildings adjacent to the hospital. 7. There are buildings between the hospital and the targeting site, and those buildings were not affected by the targeting. 8. There is a small (hangar) in the site mentioned in the claim, and satellite images after the date of the claim showed that it was safe from any damages. In light of that, JIAT found that Coalition Forces did not target the claimed location in (Abs) city of (Hajjah) governorate. --More 18:08 LOCAL TIME 15:08 GMT 0016 www.spa.gov.sa/2123604
