Saudi-led Arab coalition spokesman Brigadier General Turki Al-Malki stressed on Friday that the coalition did not target a prison in Yemen's Saada city earlier this month.
He accused the terrorist Iran-backed Houthi militias of spreading misleading information to the media in an attempt to manipulate the public and cover the real activity that was taking place at the facility in order to garner the sympathy of international agencies.
In a statement, he presented facts and detailed information collected by the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition regarding the Houthi claim. The information will be submitted to the Joint Incident Assessment Team (JIAT), Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Yemen and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
There are four locations identified as prisons in the the Joint Forces Command’s No Strike List (NSL) in Saada city, which are being used by the terrorist Houthi militias, he continued. The closest prison is located 1.8 km away from the alleged location that was targeted.
The targeted location is a Special Security Camp in Saada, making it a legitimate military target. The Houthis have used it in their military activity and to launch cross-border attacks to target civilians and civilian objects, he stated.
"What was announced and disseminated by the terrorist Houthi militias in their media outlets is a blatant attempt to mislead the public opinion regarding the true nature of the location in an attempt to garner sympathy from UN organizations and INGOs," said Malki.
"Preparations are being made to invite OCHA Yemen and ICRC to visit the Joint Forces of the Coalition’s Headquarters to familiarize them with the true nature of the military location in question, discuss the misleading Houthi narrative," he added.
Both sides will "exchange the available information they posses regarding the statements by some organizations that they have visited the location of the claim."
The coalition, he said, has not received any requests from any UN organizations or INGOs to place the location of the claim on its No Strike List.
"The Joint Forces Command of the Coalition implements the highest targeting standards and highest international standards in its targeting mechanism and Rules of Engagement," stressed Malki.
"In case of any claims, the Joint Forces Command handles said claims with the highest consideration according to its internal mechanism and in a manner adhering to the International Humanitarian Law (IHL)," he continued.
"The terrorist Houthi militias bear the full responsibility in case they use civilians as human shields in their military locations or any case contrary to IHL rules concerning detention centers as stated in the Geneva Conventions."
