The Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen found that its forces did not target Baqem Rural Hospital in Yemen’s Saada governorate in October 2016 as claimed by Physicians for Human Rights.
The Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT) announced that the coalition’s investigative commission vetted the incident and reviewed all documents relating to the incident and found that Baqem Rural Hospital, located in the northeastern part of Baqem city in Saada Governorate, was on the coalition’s no-strike list.
JIAT specialists studied the satellite images of the hospital before and after the claimed date of the incident (Oct. 1, 2016) and found the following:
1. Baqem Rural Hospital consists of a main building and its annexes, surrounded by a fence.
2. JIAT is unable to determine the cause of traces of damage on one of the annex buildings.
By studying the air missions carried out by coalition forces on Oct. 1, 2016, JIAT found that coalition forces did not carry out any air missions on Baqem city.
By studying the daily mission schedule carried out by coalition forces one day prior and one day after the claimed date of the incident, JIAT found the following:
1. On Sept. 30, 2016, the day prior to the claimed incident date, JIAT found that coalition forces did not carry out any air missions on Baqem city.
2.On Oct. 2, 2016, the day after the claimed incident date, JIAT found that coalition forces did not carry out any air missions on Baqem city.
JIAT added that it had previously announced the results of an investigation into an earlier alleged targeting, in 2015, of Baqem Rural Hospital. It concluded that coalition forces did not target the hospital as claimed.