On April 26, 2015, the missile hit the buses carrying Somali refugees was one of the deadliest attacks on Somali refugees since Saudi-led Coalition war in Yemen started. 30 people mostly women and children who were travelling from Al-qaras camp to Aden were killed by unknown missile strike.
Abdirahman Bana one of the Somali people living in Yemen has confirmed the Center for Policy Analysis to the attack on the buses carrying the refugees and told that the strikes killed at least 30 Somali refugees mostly women and children. In addition, Abdirahman told that a pregnant woman, a woman with her four children, and a woman with her five children were among the deaths. He also told to CPA that still no one knows whether it was an airstrike or fired from the sea, and the dead bodies are still on the place where the missile hit the convoy of the refugees.
In an interview with the VOA, Somali Consular to Yemen Osman Ahmed Mohamoud told that the buses passed another route which is not the main road and this caused to face an armed forces who tried to stop the conveys, and after moments missile strike hit the vehicles and no one knows where the missile strikes came from. The consular also confirmed the death of the 30 Somali refugees travelling from Al-qaras camp to Aden
This strike is a tragedy to Somali refugees who are no longer part of the war. We are strongly condemning this disaster and we cannot call an incident and cannot find any justification for this strike at the buses that killed 30 people all at once.
Bombing civilians especially women and children are against all accepted international norms, and the parties to the conflict violates the fundamental principles of Humanitarian law govern who may be targeted and what may be attacked in the conduct of hostilities which provides that parties to conflict shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants, and between civilian objects and military objects, and that even military objectives may not be attacked if an attack is likely to cause civilian casualties or damage.
It was not clear which conflicting party bombed the buses and why the buses would have been targeted by the conflicting parties, and we are calling the parties of war in Yemen to clarify why the buses was targeted and which party bombed the buses.
We are calling the parties of war in Yemen to investigate the legality of strikes which have killed the 30 Somali refugees on the buses which can result in violations of laws of war against the civilians that can constitute extrajudicial implementation or war crimes.
We are expecting on the world reaction to this killings against the Somali refugees.
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Center for Policy Analysis (CPA) is non-governmental, nonpartisan & non-profit Policy Analysis center. Its vision is to help the countries in the region of Horn of Africa to achieve democratic, peaceful and good governance systems. The headquarters of CPA is Hargeisa, Somaliland.
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