Ban Ki-moon condemns Saudi air strike on Yemeni funeral

UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon (pictured) has added his name to the calls for an international inquiry into whether an attack on a funeral in Yemen, which killed at least 140 people, was a war crime.

"Despite mounting crimes by all parties to the conflict, we have yet to see the results of any credible investigations," he said. "This latest horrific incident demands a full inquiry."

He dismissed Saudi Arabia's initial denials of responsibility, saying reports from the site of the attack suggested the bombs came from the Saudi-led coalition.

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"Aerial attacks by the Saudi-led coalition have already caused immense carnage and destroyed much of the country’s medical facilities and other vital civilian infrastructure," Ban said. "Excuses ring hollow given the pattern of violence throughout the conflict. Parties cannot hide behind the fog of this war. A man-made catastrophe is unfolding before our eyes."

The attack, in which four bombs hit a community hall where thousands had gathered to pay their respects to the family of the father of Galal al-Rawishan, the rebel-appointed interior minister, could change the course of the conflict, says analysts.

"This really might be the watershed," April Longley Alley, an analyst with the International Crisis Group who follows events in Yemen, told the New York Times.

The Obama administration also issued its first public threat to cut its support to Saudi Arabia after reports that US-made MK82 bombs were used in the strikes.

"US security cooperation with Saudi Arabia is not a blank check," said Ned Price, a spokesman for the White House national security council. He added that administration was "prepared to adjust our support so as to better align with US principles, values and interests".

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said the UK could also review its sales of weapons to the Saudis if it is found that civilians were knowingly targeted.

Both the UK and the US have come under sustained criticism in recent months for their roles in the conflict.

"If the United States and the United Kingdom tonight told King Salman [of Saudi Arabia], 'This war has to end,' it would end tomorrow. The Royal Saudi Air Force cannot operate without American and British support," former CIA officer Bruce Riedel told US news website The Intercept.

The total number of civilian casualties since the war began is estimated to be around 5,000, according to UN human rights official Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein.