Continuing civilian harm from the use of explosive weapons in Yemen

Sana’a/Utrecht –

The Ansar Allah armed group (also known as Houthis) and the Saudi/UAE-led coalition have used explosive weapons extensively in populated areas in Yemen for nearly eight years, as investigated in a new report published by Mwatana for Human Rights and PAX today. Both organizations call on states to urgently establish an independent international criminal accountability mechanism for Yemen. “Not a Single Body in One Piece: How Civilian Harm from Explosive Weapons in Yemen Calls for Immediate Action” is based on Mwatana’s field investigations between January 2019 and March 2021. The report documents ten incidents of harm resulting from attacks by the Saudi/UAE-led coalition and the Houthis. In all the incidents explosive weapons, most notably unguided artillery projectiles and air-launched missiles, were used in populated areas. What all the incidents have in common is that they show a pattern of grave human harm that goes beyond the direct injuries and deaths, extending to grave psychological suffering, loss of income and loss of homes.

“States should immediately cease the sale or transfer of weapons to all conflict parties, whether states or non-states actors,” said Radhya Almutawakel, the chairperson of Mwatana for Human Rights. “An international mechanism is essential to investigate human rights abuses including all the incidents in which explosive weapons were used in Yemen, which caused the death of civilians and the destruction of civilian objects.”

These ten incidents documented by Mwatana do not constitute a comprehensive catalogue of all violations committed by the parties to the conflict in Yemen. Rather they are examples of attacks in which civilians were harmed and civilian objects were destroyed.

The incidents included in the report demonstrate the urgent need for all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and international human rights law and to better protect civilians.

”The bombing and shelling of towns and cities create a distinct and long term pattern of harm that needs to stop. We call upon all parties, in Yemen and elsewhere to avoid the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.”, said Roos Boer, project leader humanitarian disarmament for PAX and co-author of the report.

Since the beginning of the armed conflict in September 2014, Mwatana has documented attacks committed by all warring parties in Yemen including the Saudi/UAE-led coalition, Ansar Allah, the internationally recognized government of Yemen, and UAE-backed forces including the Southern Transitional Council (STC); some of them may amount to war crimes.

Between September 2014 and 31 August 2022, Mwatana visited the scene of and documented 1,044 airstrikes in which civilians or civilian objects were hit. In these incidents, 3,618 civilians were killed, including 459 women and 1,207 children. A further 3,973 civilians were injured, including 464 women and 1,013 children. Also, hundreds of civilian objects, such as hospitals, homes, schools, and other service facilities, were damaged or destroyed. In the same period, Mwatana visited and documented 805 incidents of ground-launched attacks. These attacks killed 751 civilians, including 122 women and 310 children. Another 1,885 civilians were injured, including 288 women and 785 children. In addition, hundreds of civilian objects, such as houses, schools and hospitals, were damaged or destroyed.

For further enquiries:

Osamah Alfakih, advocacy director at Mwatana for Human Rights, oalfakih@mwatana.org, +967711404790 (WhatsApp), +967775546904 (calls and Signal).

Marlous van ‘t Pad Bosch, media advisor for PAX, at M.vantPadBosch@paxforpeace.nl, +31612924873.