After more than nine years of the incident the coalition to support Yemen’s Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT) issued a statement on Wednesday regarding the allegation that the coalition to support Yemen’s legitimacy’s fighters struck Al-Maqqah ancient temple in Sarwah, Marib governorate in Yemen on Jan. 14, 2016, causing partial damage to its columns and monuments.
The statement explained that after reviewing various documents, including mission schedules, post-mission reports and satellite images, JIAT found that the coalition forces, responding to a request from the legitimate government, carried out a close air support mission against a gathering of Houthi fighters who seized the archaeological sites in Sarwah, including Al-Maqqah temple.
In a press conference in Riyadh, JIAT spokesman Mansour Al-Mansour said: “Coalition forces, under the guidance of a forward controller, carried out a close air support mission on a gathering of Houthi fighters entrenched in a camouflaged location, about 350 meters from Al-Maqqah temple, using one guided bomb that hit its target directly.”
JIAT said coalition forces conducted no air missions in Sarwah on Jan. 13 or Jan. 15, 2016 and specialists analyzing satellite images of the temple found no traces of aerial targeting.
The team concluded that coalition forces did not target Al-Maqqah temple on Jan. 14, 2016, as claimed.
JIAT also addressed another allegation that coalition forces targeted a gas station in the Harib, Marib governorate on Sept. 3, 2015.
After reviewing air tasking orders, mission schedules, execution procedures, post-mission reports, satellite images and JIAT’s field visit report, it was concluded that no operations over Harib city. Similarly, no missions were carried out on Sept. 2 or Sept. 4.
JIAT concluded that coalition forces did not target a gas station in Harib city on Sept. 3, 2015, as claimed.
JIAT also addressed an allegation that coalition forces targeted a medical clinic in Khamis Marran in the Haydan directorate of Saada governorate on April 1, 2015.
The claim, included in a March 2020 report by Physicians for Human Rights, alleged that coalition aircraft struck the clinic, though no coordinates of the site were provided.
After reviewing air tasking orders, mission schedules, post-mission reports, satellite images and coordinates provided by the legitimate Yemeni government, JIAT confirmed that coalition forces carried out a strike against a military target 3,500 meters away from the clinic, using guided bombs that hit the target precisely.