The United Nations Security Council has called for a credible investigation into the Saudi-led airstrike that killed at least 40 children in Yemen, after hitting a school bus Thursday.
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The British ambassador to the U.N. Karen Price said Friday there is "grave concern at these and all other recent attacks in Yemen. They called for a credible and transparent investigation."
Yemen's Houthi rebels have backed the U.N. call.
Senior Houthi leader Mohammed Ali al-Houthi said via Twitter that the rebels were willing to cooperate in a future investigation into the United States-backed coalition.
The council met at the request of Bolivia, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, and Sweden, who are all non-permanent members of the security council. The Netherlands stressed that the investigation announced by the coalition that carried out the attack was insufficient and reiterated it "is essential at this moment to have a credible and independent investigation."
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Some have pointed out; however, the press statement announcing the move did not include the word independent when referring to the probe. According to Pierce, the council will discuss how to investigate the matter with other U.N. bodies.
Since 2015, Saudi Arabia has led a military offensive against Yemen to restore the government deposed by the Houthis rebels, who still hold the capital Sana’a.
This is not the first attack against Yemen in which the Saudi-led coalition has targeted civilian infrastructure and events, such as markets, hospitals, and weddings.
According to the U.N., the war has left nearly 10,000 people dead and created a profound humanitarian crisis, famine, cholera outbreaks, and shortages of medicine.
The Saudi-led coalition includes the United Arab Emirates, Senegal, Egypt, Sudan, Morocco, and Qatar. While the U.S., the United Kingdom, and France provide logistical support, intelligence, training, and weapons.
The U.K.-based Campaign Against Arms Trade revealed that since 2015 the U.K. sold more than US$6.3 billion in weapons to Saudi Arabia. In March, the Trump administration approved a US$1 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia.