Rights group: Saudi strikes in Yemen may be war crimes

NEW YORK, July 28 (UPI) -- The killing of at least 65 civilians by Saudi-led airstrikes in Mokha, Yemen, last week may constitute a war crime, a human rights advocacy group suggested Tuesday.

The New York-headquartered Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the July 24 attack on two residential compounds at the Yemeni port had "no evident military target," adding "this attack appears to be a war crime."

The Saudi-led alliance, fighting Houthi rebels for the past four months in Yemen and eager to see the previous government returned to power, has repeatedly said it only attacks military enemy locations.

The United Nations said Tuesday 1,895 civilians have been killed and 4,182 have been injured since the airstrikes began in March.

In the attack on Mohka, HRW said bombs struck a residence holding 200 families of employees of the Mokha Steam Power Plant. It noted the nearest military installation, an abandoned air-defense base, was 800 meters (2,642 feet), or about a half-mile, away.

In a statement, HRW called for a United Nations investigation of all parties involved in the conflict, in light of allegations the Houthis may have "repeatedly put civilian lives and civilian structures, such as hospitals, at unnecessary risk."