China backs U.N. call for justice in Yemen, U.S. and Saudis don't

Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights arrives at the 36th Session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

GENEVA (Reuters) - China signalled on Wednesday it was willing to back an international inquiry into atrocities in Yemen, as demanded by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, but Saudi Arabia and the United States said they did not support the idea.

For three years running U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein has asked the 47 countries in the U.N. Human Rights Council to set up an independent investigation into Yemen's war, which has killed at least 10,000, destroyed the economy, led to a cholera epidemic and pushed millions to the brink of famine.