UN puts Saudi-led coalition in blacklist

The Saudi Arabia-led coalition fighting in Yemen was placed on a UN blacklist on Thursday for killing and maiming children, drawing fresh calls from rights groups to step up pressure on Riyadh over the conflict.

The group was briefly included on the annual list of shame last year before a threat by Saudi Arabia to cut off its funding to UN programs forced a reversal.

In announcing the move, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres noted that the coalition had taken some measures to improve the protection of children.

"In Yemen, the actions of the coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen objectively led to that party being listed for the killing and maiming of children," said a report released along with the list as an annex.

In 2016, the coalition was responsible for 683 child casualties and for 38 verified attacks on schools and hospitals, it said.

Yemen's government forces, pro-government militias, the Huthi rebels and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) were also cited for violations, but in a separate section of the list that said they had failed to protect children.

Guterres spoke to Saudi King Salman ahead of the release of the list, which UN officials had shared with Riyadh months earlier to avoid a repeat of the clash that followed the blacklisting by his predecessor Ban Ki-moon last year.

Ban removed the coalition from the list and publicly complained that it was unacceptable for countries to "exert undue pressure" on the United Nations to avoid scrutiny.