An Airstrike On A Funeral Has Become The Latest In A Line Of Horrors In Yemen

Yemen has been reeling since 2015, when a group of rebels known as the Houthis took control of the country's capital, Sana. In response, and inspired by fears that the Houthis were puppets of Iran, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states banded together to push back the Houthis. That's taken the form of a punishing bombing campaign that has lasted for over a year and a half, destroying several cultural sites and killing thousands of civilians.

The funeral home was packed with local politicians and members of important tribes from throughout Yemen, including some who wished to move the stalled peace process forward. The airstrike left several of them dead.

“They killed and injured several important moderate leaders who were working with them, who wanted a deal,” April Longley Alley, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, told the New York Times. “Now the desire for revenge is high, and militants will be empowered, which puts us in a situation where a compromise might not be possible.”

The ship took defensive maneuvers after learning of the launch and both missiles fired fell into the sea, the Pentagon said. The Houthis, however, denied that they were the ones to launch the missiles at the US vessel.

Ban also called for an investigation into the attack, a call that was echoed by UN human rights chief Prince Zeid bin Ra'ad.

The US approved the sale of $1.15 billion worth of military equipment to Saudi Arabia in August. As the deal was being completed, State Department lawyers reportedly debated just how culpable the sale would leave the United States for civilian deaths carried out with the new hardware. The lawyers did not reach a conclusion on whether the US would be on the hook for war crimes, Reuters reported.