WASHINGTON (IPS) — The Yemeni government and Houthi rebels should investigate allegations that war crimes took place during recent hostilities between the two groups in the northern region of the country, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released Wednesday.”It is time to end the impunity surrounding the cycle of civilian suffering in northern Yemen,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Very few of those displaced by this tragic conflict are getting desperately needed assistance.” The 54-page report, “All Quiet on the Northern Front?: Uninvestigated Laws of War Violations in Yemen’s War with Houthi Rebels,” chronicles allegations of violations of the laws of war, including how Saudi and Yemeni government forces may have indiscriminately bombed civilian areas, causing civilian casualties, and reports that Houthi forces may have committed summary executions. The HRW report is based on interviews conducted in October 2009 in Yemen with civilians and humanitarian aid workers who witnessed fighting in the northern Sa’da and Amran governorates. HRW asserts that the Yemeni government’s restrictions on access to the conflict area made it impossible for them to visit the sites of incidents described by witnesses, and said that further investigations are needed to obtain a clearer picture of alleged abuses. Since fighting resumed in mid-August 2009, shelling by both sides and government aerial bombardments have killed hundreds of civilians, injured many more, and in some cases destroyed entire villages. The Houthi — a powerful Zaidi militia who say they are fighting against discrimination at the hands of the Yemeni government — quickly found themselves fighting a two-front war after neighboring Saudi Arabia sent fighter planes to bomb their positions, citing violations of the kingdom’s territorial integrity. HRW says that by mid-February, international aid agencies were struggling to support even a small fraction of more than a quarter million people — most of them women and children — displaced from their homes and villages during the fighting. The rights group alleges that if Saudi Arabia or Yemen’s airstrikes on Houthi forces did not discriminate between combatants and civilians or caused disproportionate loss of civilian life and property, they would constitute violations of the laws of war. Moreover, the report details claims that Houthi fighters prevented civilians from fleeing their villages to obtain medical treatment during the conflict. Allegations of pillaging and looting, using human shields and summary executions were also leveled against the rebel group in the report. The report also mentioned allegations of the use of child soldiers by both the Yemeni military and Houthi rebels, as well as allegations that Saudi Arabia forcibly returned Yemeni civilians fleeing the fighting back to the war zone after they sought refuge in the kingdom. On Feb. 11, 2010, the most recent in a series of six truces was agreed upon between the two sides since fighting began in 2004. But the agreement contains no accountability for past offenses that occurred during combat. Some analysts believe that this is not a problem, and basic political questions of local institutions and national representation are far more pressing. “A long-term political resolution requires the building of strong, legitimate political and economic institutions that will facilitate economic investment and growth, absorbing regional political tensions like in Sa’da, and also in the south,” said Charles Schmitz, a Yemen specialist and associate professor of geography at Towson University in Baltimore. “I’m not sure that war crimes tribunals are the place to start.” Other analysts had pointed criticisms of the report, saying that its stark assessment of rights violations obscure the larger context surrounding the conflict. “[It] should do much to bring a great deal of international attention to bear on a war that has all too often been neglected and ignored to the detriment of thousands of Yemenis,” said Gregory Johnsen, a Yemen analyst who co-founded a well-read blog about Yemeni politics and culture, islamandinsurgencyinyemen.blogspot.com. But, “The roots of the conflict in Sa’dah and why it has proven so intractable have little to do with human rights violations. Just as the Yemeni military has been unable to bomb its way out of Sa’dah, neither will implementing every one of the report’s 18 recommendations alleviate the situation,” Johnsen told IPS. According to the United Nations Development Program, Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the Middle East and North Africa region, with economic and human development indicators far below average. The U.S. and Britain have pledged support and aid to Yemen, in order to assist their ongoing offensive against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The government is also fighting a secessionist movement in the south.HRW called upon Yemen’s government to investigate the allegations against its military and discipline or prosecute as appropriate all those responsible. HRW also requested that an assessment be conducted of recent aerial attacks that caused civilian casualties in order to adopt measures that ensure conformity with the laws of war. The New York-based rights group called on the Houthi rebels to promptly investigate allegations of summary executions and other abuses by their own forces and to appropriately punish those responsible. Neither the Houthi nor the government of Yemen has responded to the report, but Yemen’s government has said in the past that it intended to investigate some of the reported bombings.