Amnesty International: Bombing of Schools in Yemen Has Deprived Thousands of Education

Amnesty International, in a report published on Friday, December 10, states that the Saudi-led coalition of Arab countries has deprived thousands of people of education by bombing schools that are still operational. Reuters reports that between August and October 2015, five schools were bombed, resulting in the deaths of five civilians, including children, and injuring fourteen others. This human rights organization has called for investigations into these attacks in its report, which comes ahead of peace negotiations for Yemen mediated by the United Nations next week in Switzerland. The report indicates that students were not present in the schools during the attacks. Following the significant advance of Iranian-backed Houthi militants, a coalition of Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia intervened in the Yemen war by launching airstrikes in March of this year. The coalition's goal is to push back Houthi forces and their allies and to restore the Yemeni government that was overthrown by the Houthi Shiites. According to Reuters, the rising civilian casualties and destruction of infrastructure in this impoverished country, such as roads, schools, and hospitals, have raised serious concerns among international human rights organizations. Saudi government spokespersons have repeatedly claimed that the military coalition led by their country does not target civilian buildings and centers. Lama Fakih, senior advisor at Amnesty International on regional crises, told Reuters, 'The Saudi-led military coalition has attacked a number of schools that are used for education and not for military purposes. Attacking civilian targets is against international law. Now, children in Yemen are deprived of education in addition to all other problems.' According to UNICEF reports, since March and the beginning of airstrikes by the Saudi-led military coalition, 34% of Yemeni children, about 1.8 million, have been unable to attend school. Half of the 1,000 schools that have closed in recent months are now being used as temporary shelters for families fleeing and displaced from war zones. The Saudi-led military coalition accuses the Houthi Shiites, who currently control Yemen's capital, Sana'a, of using civilian buildings as weapons storage. However, Amnesty International states that no evidence of military use was found in the schools examined in its investigations. The organization reports that a technical school on the outskirts of Sana'a was targeted four times in airstrikes within a few weeks. In part of the Amnesty report, a 12-year-old girl and student from the port city of Hodeidah on the Red Sea, which was devastated by the bombings in August, is quoted as saying, 'We always live in fear and terror. Today I saw an airplane and I was very scared and terrified.'