A State Department spokesperson called for Saudi Arabia to be allowed to investigate itself over airstrikes on a funeral, which is a potential war crime, while simultaneously advocating for an international investigation into Russia’s actions in Syria.
On Saturday, the U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalition waging war in Yemen bombed a funeral in the capital city of Sanaa. At least 140 people were killed and over 500 others were injured in the airstrike, which human rights experts warned likely constitutes a war crime. Some reports even suggest the Saudi coalition targeted the funeral repeatedly, so as to injure or kill rescuers coming to the aid of the victims of the first airstrike.
Speaking at the United Nations on Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry called on Russia and Syria to face a formal investigation over possible war crimes committed in the Syrian civil war. No similar investigation into Saudi Arabia’s actions in Yemen will be forthcoming, however, according to State Department spokesperson John Kirby, who addressed the issue during a press briefing on Tuesday.
