‘We have courage to accept inquiry results’

Riyadh — The Arab Coalition has the courage to accept the results of the investigation into Sanaa incident, Maj. Gen. Ahmed Assiri, adviser to the Saudi defense minister and spokesman of the Arab Coalition, said in an interview. In a phone call with Al Arabiya, Assiri emphasized that “the important mission now is to modify the path and review the rules of engagement to make sure that such errors — which are not compatible with the principles of the Coalition, which aims to serve the citizens — do not happen again.” The Coalition announced on Saturday that it accepts the findings of the Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT) on the Great Hall incident in Sanaa. “The Coalition affirms that it accepts the results of the investigation, and has begun to implement the JIAT’s recommendations,” the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted the Coalition as saying. The investigation’s report has mentioned that one of the Coalition warplanes had “wrongly targeted” a funeral in the capital Sanaa after receiving false information from a party within the Yemeni army. The Coalition added that the directing operations center of the Yemeni army approved the strike without the Coalition’s authorization. It announced disciplinary proceedings. “Because of non-compliance with Coalition rules of engagement and procedures, and the issuing of incorrect information, a Coalition aircraft wrongly targeted the location, resulting in civilian deaths and injuries,” an inquiry team found. “Appropriate action... must be taken against those who caused the incident, and... compensation must be offered to the families of the victims.” The Coalition’s statement also said that “other parties” exploited the incident and “raised the death toll.” The Coalition also expressed “its regret for the unintentional incident and the ensuing pain for victims’ families.” It added: “The incident is not in line with the Coalition’s objectives, na mely protecting civilians and restoring safety and stability to Yemen.” — Al Arabiya English