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Following a U.S. drone strike last week that reportedly killed 14 and injured 22 in a wedding convoy, Yemen’s parliament voted to end drone strikes in Yemen. The parliaments nearly unanimous vote was non-binding, but “a strong warning” to both the United States and the government of Yemeni President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi, a Yemeni government official told CNN. According to the Associated Press, tribal leader Mohammed Nasser and one of the mediators between the families and the government said the Yemeni government paid approximately $140,000 to the families of the victims killed in last weeks drone strike.
The Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa program, Philip Luther, argues that even if the latest killings are “based on mistaken identity or dodgy intelligence, whoever was responsible needs to own up to the error and come clean about what happened in this incident.” Luther adds that the lack of transparency over civilian deaths in Yemen means, ”the victims and their families have no effective access to redress or reparations,” diminishing “public trust in the country’s institutions” and ”entrenching impunity and fueling a cycle of violations and abuses.”
Fatima Abo al-Asrar, an independent Middle East analyst, cautions that the fragile transition in Yemen is increasingly vulnerable due to the insecurity within the country. Al-Asrar suggests, ”Terror operations are getting bolder and more pernicious, and unless there is quick thinking and real partnership between Yemen and its allies, further instability will stifle the progress of the national dialogue.” Ultimately though, al-Asrar believes, “It is not too late for the Friends of Yemen to share a viable strategy that will help the government deal with instability.”
Meanwhile, Japanese diplomat Katsusuke Sotomini was stabbed by assailants who were reportedly trying to kidnap him outside his home in Sana’a, according to the Japan Daily Press. Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Masaru Sato confirmed a Japanese diplomat was attacked in Yemen but said no official statement can be made since they are still gathering information.
