Saudi-led coalition forms committee to 'aid' Yemen war victims

A new Saudi committee has been established by royal decree, claiming it will help the many Yemenis affected by the Riyadh-led coalition intervention in the war-torn country

The Joint Incident Assessment Team (JIAT) - an arm of the Arab coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen - announced the move during a press conference in Riyadh.

No further information was provided, however, the JIAT discussed the deadly conflict - which independent groups say has killed 10,000 Yemenis - and dismissed reports accusing the coalition of targeting civilians.     

"Bombing operations are based upon intelligence information, which is aligned with the international and humanitarian laws," JIAT said, according to Saudi media outlet al-Arabiya, saying rebels "chose for their headquarters to be near hospitals".

The move follows weeks of widespread criticism for the coalition's air, land and sea blockade on the already-impoverished state, which Saudi Arabia says is in response to a missile attack by Iran-backed Houthi rebels that was intercepted near Riyadh.

Last week, an international aid group said 1 million people in three Yemeni cities were at risk of a renewed cholera outbreak and other water-borne diseases due to the closure of air and sea ports.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement on Friday the cities of Hodeida, Saada and Taiz had to stop providing clean water in recent days due to a lack of fuel.

The United Nations warned on Thursday that fuel supplies needed to run Yemen's hospital generators and pump clean water will run out in less than three weeks, unless the Saudi-led coalition lifts its blockade.

The dire forecast came as Yemen battles one of the world's worst outbreaks of cholera, with nearly one million people infected. Some 2,200 people have died from the disease.

Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in neighbouring Yemen in March 2015 to push back the rebels who control the capital Sanaa, in an attempt to restore the government of Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi to power.

The UN has listed Yemen as the world's number one humanitarian crisis, with 17 million people in need of food, seven million of whom are at risk of famine.