Amnesty: Saudi mercs 'harass', use medics as human shields

Amnesty International says Saudi-backed militants fighting in Yemen are leading a "campaign of harassment and intimidation" against hospital staff and using civilians as human shields.

According to Press TV, Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International Philip Luther said on Wednesday that the Saudi mercenaries are stationing fighters and military positions near medical facilities. 

"By positioning fighters and military positions near medical facilities they have compromised the safety of hospitals and flouted their obligation to protect civilians under international law," he said.  

Luther said the Saudi-backed militants are also harassing medical staff and preventing doctors from carrying their work.

"Attacks targeting health professionals or medical facilities are prohibited by international humanitarian law and can constitute war crimes," he said.

Ex-president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is strongly aligned with Saudi Arabia, resigned and fled the capital Sana’a to Riyadh in March last year. His loyalists have been waging a destructive war against the impoverished country since to restore the former administration to power.

The Saudi military has been lending them air power, which has so far martyred thousands of Yemenis. They are fighting the Ansarallah movement and its allies in the Yemeni army to restore Hadi to power. 

ME