UN condemns executions by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis

SMA NEWS – NEW YORK

The UN on Sunday condemned Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants’ execution of nine people for their alleged involvement in the killing of a top Houthi leader.

The Iran-backed Houthis are battling the Yemeni government for control of the impoverished country.

The militia group said they executed the nine individuals on Saturday for their involvement in the killing of Saleh al-Sammad, who was head of the Houthis’ supreme political council, in a 2018 airstrike.

They were among 16 people convicted by a Houthi court.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “deeply regrets” the executions, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement, adding that one of the people was reportedly a minor at time of detention.

Guterres “strongly condemns these actions which are a result of judicial proceedings that do not appear to have fulfilled the requirements of fair trial and due process under international law,” the statement added.

Yemen’s conflict began in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa, prompting the Arab Coalition to intervene the following year.

Since then, tens of thousands have been killed and millions pushed to the brink of famine in what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.