Doctors
Without Borders asked ‘the U.S., U.K. and France to ensure an
immediate application of measures to substantially increase the
protection of civilians’ after the latest deadly hospital bombing
in Yemen.
by
Kit O'Connell
The
recent bombing of a hospital in northwestern Yemen has drawn
international outrage and new criticism of the Saudi-led, U.S.-backed
forces fighting there, but it’s just the latest in a slew of war
crimes committed over the past 15 years in the name of the
U.S.-backed global war on terror.
Nineteen
people were killed and 24 were injured in the Aug. 15 bombing, which
struck Abs Hospital in northwestern Yemen. Among the dead was Abdul
Kareem al Hakeemi, a staff member of Doctors Without Borders
(frequently referred to by its French name, Médecins sans
Frontières, or MSF).
It
was the fourth and deadliest bombing of an MSF-supported hospital
since the attacks on Yemen began in early 2015, leading the NGO to
evacuate its six hospitals in the region three days later.
“This
latest incident shows that the current rules of engagement, military
protocols and procedures are inadequate in avoiding attacks on
hospitals and need revision and changes,” said Joan Tubau, MSF
general director, in a press release. “MSF asks the Saudi-led
coalition and the governments supporting the coalition, particularly
the U.S., U.K. and France, to ensure an immediate application of
measures to substantially increase the protection of civilians.”
The
Saudi-led coalition began bombing in March 2015, after the Houthis
took power in Yemen. That bombing campaign has deliberately targeted
schools, health care facilities, homes and businesses, and other
critical civilian infrastructure like bridges, killing about 10,000
people, creating almost 180,000 refugees, and putting 370,000
children at risk of starvation.
The
State Department rebuked the Saudis over the latest hospital bombing,
and the United States has withdrawn most of its military support
staff from the war. Some are calling on Congress to put an end to
U.S. military sales to Saudi Arabia in light of these human rights
violations. However, there’s little indication that there will be
any change to the American foreign policy that supports conflict and
instability in the Middle East.
U.S.
forces infamously bombed an MSF hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, in
October, killing 42 civilians, including multiple MSF doctors and
staff. In April, NPR suggested the Kunduz attack was part of a trend
of war crimes against hospitals that’s growing worse over time.
Regardless
of what degree of responsibility the U.S. bears for the increasing
lack of safety at hospitals and medical facilities in war zones, it’s
hard to deny that American foreign policy has put civilians squarely
in the crosshairs. U.S. wars in the Middle East have killed as many
as 4 million civilians and directly contributed to the instability in
the region, including the rise of terrorism and suicide bombing.
One
example of Washington’s deadly foreign policy is the use of
predator drones, a staple of the Obama administration, despite the
fact that U.S. drone strikes have killed mostly civilians.
In
June, Mnar Muhawesh, MintPress News’ founder and host of “Behind
the Headline,” questioned how a Nobel Peace Prize winner came to
create a global policy of assassination and endless war, almost from
the very first day of his administration.
“On
his third day in office, Obama authorized two drone strikes in
Pakistan, killing over a dozen civilians,” Muhawesh said, noting:
“It
set the tone for an administration that’s killed thousands by
weaponized unmanned aerial vehicles, the vast majority of whom did
nothing to deserve their fate except for being in the wrong place at
the wrong time; the vast majority of whom the U.S. fails to recognize
as victims in the ever-expanding ‘war on terror.’”
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