On 29th April 2015, the Saudi led coalition carried out several air raids in the Khoor Maksar area of Aden. A commercial complex and an Arab shopping mall both located away from the clashes with Houthis were hit. The shopping malls were completely wrecked. Two workers are known to have burnt to death but other workers and security guards from Bangladesh who were trapped inside the malls couldn’t be rescued .
On 27/28th April 2015, a residential street in the Crater in the district of Aden, Yemen, was struck by Saudi led coalition airstrikes hitting homes, cars, a school, a mosque and a maternity clinic, killing 18 civilians and wounding 47 others, including women and children.
This is reporter Iona Craig's account of what happened:
The aftermath of an April 27 Saudi-led bombing on the residential
Crater district in the heart of Yemen’s southern port city of Aden,
which killed at least 18 civilians, including seven members of one
family. Photo: Iona Craig
'In the Crater district of Aden, nestled in the heart of a dormant volcano, at least 18 civilians were killed on April 28, including a family of seven. The crumbling buildings and carcasses of cars left behind suggest that multiple strikes hit the narrow residential street. The facade of one house torn open by bombs exposes furniture and family possessions like a child’s doll house; just a few yards away a school, mosque and maternity clinic all lie in ruins.'
The following is a report from the Chinese news agency Xinhua:
'Up to 18 civilians were killed and 47 others wounded when warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition forces mistakenly hit a populated neighborhood in Yemen's southern port city of Aden on Monday, a government official told Xinhua.
"A number of missiles fired by the Saudi-led warplanes struck a residential neighborhood in the district of Crater of Aden city by mistake, leaving dozens of people killed and wounded and destroying several houses at the scene," the local government official based in Aden said on condition of anonymity. "According to the initial reports, the Saudi-led airstrike killed about 18 civilians and wounded 47 others, including children and women," the government source said. Local residents confirmed to Xinhua that "very huge explosions rocked the populated neighborhood and caused several buildings to collapse while many people were living there."
An army commander fighting alongside with tribal militia loyal to Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in Aden said that "apparently the Saudi-led airstrike were aiming to target armored trucks of the Houthi gunmen stationed in Crater district."
"But unfortunately the raids mistook its target and hit residential buildings that caused large destruction in the area," the army commander said.'
On 25th April 2015, the Saudi led coalition airstrikes hit a public bus carrying Somalie refugees, killing at least 30. This is reporter Iona Craig's account of the incident:
'On April 25 a fighter jet bombed a public bus towing another bus
carrying Somali refugees from the isolated Kharaz refugee camp, 93 miles
northwest of Aden. Forced to take a winding back route to Aden because
of fighting on the main road, the shambling convoy was hit around 11 a.m
by at least two strikes in the remote desert scrublands of Lahj.
Mustafa al-Abd Awad said he lost his brother, Mohammed, a father of
seven. When Awad went to the site to recover his brother’s body, he
counted more than 30 others in the ashes of the two burnt-out buses.
Other relatives who went to collect their dead said the total killed was
as high as 52. “They take everything from us,” shouted Awad, gesturing
toward a cloudless sky. “Why? Tell me why.”
Mohammed Hussein Othman, posing for a selfie (L), was
later killed by an airstrike that hit the public bus he was traveling
in on April 25 in Lahj, Yemen (R).
Photo: (selfie) Mohammed Hussein Othman (Othman deceased) Abdulkhader Hussain Othman
Mohammed
Hussein Othman, 23, was also killed that day, leaving behind his
4-year-old son, Rashid, who had already lost his mother at birth. “My
Dad went to heaven to be with my Mum,” said the little boy, sitting in
the lap of his grandmother, Itisam, while the older woman smiled at
selfies taken by her son shortly before his death.'
Muhammed Hussein Othman’s 4 year-old son, Rashid, with his grandmother.
On the 21st April 2015, the Saudi led coalition airstrikes targeted a Al-Makhder / Al Dalil Bridge in Ibb governorate, killing many civilians who were travelling along the road.
The following video states that medical representatives claimed that there were 24 bodies many of which were too disfigured to identify, plus another 30 wounded, 20 of whom were lightly wounded and 10 of whom needed surgery, out of which 6 of which were in a critical condition. The crowd interviewed stated that they do not harbour hidden arms nor Ansar Allah militias.
WARNING: the following video and photos are graphic and distressing. They are put here as evidence to call for a UN independent investigation and to call on Western countries to honour the arms agreement and stop the supply of weapons to Saudi Arabia.
The following report initial report by the Legal Center for Rights and Development states 24 dead and 26 injured.
The following more detailed report by the Legal Center for Rights and Development includes details of 18 people found dead on the bridge plus 26 injured. Witnesses also state that the jets came back a second time to strike those involved in rescue efforts which resulted in many more deaths and injuries than would have been otherwise.
This is Mwatana's report of the incident: (note the date states 26th April but other reports and tweets of the breaking news at that time show that this incident happened on 21st April)
Starting in the early hours of 21st April 2015, the Saudi led coalition airstrikes targeted the Haradh district of Northwest Yemen, where they hit a residential area, small guest houses, restaurants and communications networks. Eleven people were killed and at least sixty seven were wounded whilst properties were devastated. Over the next few days almost the entire population of the town fled leaving the place like a ghost town, reported Medicine San Frontier who were supporting Haradh public hospital at that time, which was the last of the town's four hospitals to remain open. http://www.msf.org.uk/article/yemen-people-flee-haradh-as-latest-attacks-leave-11-dead-and-67-wounded These videos document the Saudi led coalition air strikes on Yemen. WARNING, they are EXTREMELY GRAPHIC and DISTRESSING.
They are put here as evidence to support the call for an independent
enquiry into war crimes and to call on the West to stop supplying arms
to Saudi Arabia.
On the 20th April 2015, the Saudi led coalition airstrikes hit Mount Attan in Sana'a targeting weapons storage. The blast was so large that its impact was felt across the town of Sana'a, damaging homes, businesses and cars for miles around. It is believed up to 39 people died and up to 574 were injured (including women and children) in the blast and many were forced to flee as residents described that they felt like they had been hit by something similar to an earthquake or a strong tornado.
On 20 April a huge explosion in south-west Sana’a caused 574 injuries and 39 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health. The injured were received by at least 10 hospitals in Sana'a, three of which were supported by MSF with donations of dressing kits, drugs and medical supplies. Psychological support for victims was also provided at one of these hospitals, and 1,000 litres of fuel was donated to another.
The incident that resulted in the largest recorded number of civilian deaths and injuries from aeriel explosive weapons took place in Sana'a on 20 April 2015. An air strike at approximately 10.30 am in the morning hit an alleged mountainside missile depot in the western district of Faj Attan. Residents described the blast like an earthquake.
AOAV recoreded a total of 25 civilian deaths and injuries in the Faj Attan bombing. Although the air strike was reportedly at a military target the force and fallout of the explosion was felt across many populated areas of the capital.
Residential homes near the site were flattened. The shockwaves were felt up to four miles away, and the local Red Cross workers reported that civilian casualties were spread throughout the city as windows were shattered and debris was scattered across Sana'a. Resident Osamah al-Fakih, recalling the aftermath, said:
"The moment the missile base at Faj Attan exploded last week was terrifying. The shelling and bombardment that preceded it was usual. I was in my apartment getting ready to go out, when the room started shaking, like an earthquake. Frozen, I was genuinely worried that the building would collapse. Then the explosion - shattering all the windows and leaving broken glass in its wake, It took me a couple of minutes to realise what had happened. I took my mobile phone to answer calls and checked in with my family and friends. The most painful call was the one I made to my sister. While speaking to her I could hear my two-year-old nephew crying out in fear and screaming 'Mama, Mama,' his voice is still resonating in my head as each shell goes off."
One of the survivors of an airstrike that took place on Faj ‘Attan, on the outskirts of Sana’a on 20 April, told Amnesty International that his relatives, a couple and their eight-year-old son died after their apartment block collapsed under heavy rocks that fell from a nearby mountain struck by a rocket. The rocket had targeted the Republican Guard military base on the top of Faj ‘Attan Mountain. The couple’s 12-year-old daughter, who was standing outside of the house at the time, survived.
On the 20th April 2015, the Saudi led coalition airstrikes hit Mount Attan in Sana'a targeting weapons storage. The blast was so large that its impact was felt across the town of Sana'a, damaging homes, businesses and cars for miles around. It is believed up to 39 people died and up to 574 were injured (including women and children) in the blast and many were forced to flee as residents described that they felt like they had been hit by something similar to an earthquake or a strong tornado.
On 20 April a huge explosion in south-west Sana’a caused 574 injuries and 39 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health. The injured were received by at least 10 hospitals in Sana'a, three of which were supported by MSF with donations of dressing kits, drugs and medical supplies. Psychological support for victims was also provided at one of these hospitals, and 1,000 litres of fuel was donated to another.
The incident that resulted in the largest recorded number of civilian deaths and injuries from aeriel explosive weapons took place in Sana'a on 20 April 2014. An air strike at approximately 10.30 am in the morning hit an alleged mountainside missile depot in the western district of Faj Attan. Residents described the blast like an earthquake.
AOAV recoreded a total of 25 civilian deaths and injuries in the Faj Attan bombing. Although the air strike was reportedly at a military target the force and fallout of the explosion was felt across many populated areas of the capital.
Residential homes near the site were flattened. The shockwaves were felt up to four miles away, and the local Red Cross workers reported that civilian casualties were spread throughout the city as windows were shattered and debris was scattered across Sana'a. Resident Osamah al-Fakih, recalling the aftermath, said:
"The moment the missile base at Faj Attan exploded last week was terrifying. The shelling and bombardment that preceded it was usual. I was in my apartment getting ready to go out, when the room started shaking, like an earthquake. Frozen, I was genuinely worried that the building would collapse. Then the explosion - shattering all the windows and leaving broken glass in its wake, It took me a couple of minutes to realise what had happened. I took my mobile phone to answer calls and checked in with my family and friends. The most painful call was the one I made to my sister. While speaking to her I could hear my two-year-old nephew crying out in fear and screaming 'Mama, Mama,' his voice is still resonating in my head as each shell goes off."
One of the survivors of an airstrike that took place on Faj ‘Attan, on the outskirts of Sana’a on 20 April, told Amnesty International that his relatives, a couple and their eight-year-old son died after their apartment block collapsed under heavy rocks that fell from a nearby mountain struck by a rocket. The rocket had targeted the Republican Guard military base on the top of Faj ‘Attan Mountain. The couple’s 12-year-old daughter, who was standing outside of the house at the time, survived.
On 19th April 2015 Saudi led coalition airstrikes hit an Oxfam Warehouse.
An Amnesty International report recorded this regarding the incident:
A coalition airstrike on a warehouse of the humanitarian organization Oxfam, on 19 April, sent shrapnel flying into the home of Safia Hamuda Mohammed, a widow who lives nearby with her four daughters in a small tin-roofed dwelling. Safia told Amnesty International:
“Everything shook and pieces of metal came flying in, slicing through the roof and the walls. It is a miracle we are still alive and unharmed. We crouched by the wall and prayed. The pieces of metal fell right by our feet. I shudder to think at what could have happened if one of those pieces of metal had hit my daughters.”
Grace Ommer, Oxfam's country director in Yemen said: "This is an outrage. The contents of the warehouse had no military value. It only contained humanitarian supplies associated with our previous work in Saada, bringing clean water to thousands of households."
Oxfam has been working in the northern governorate of Saada for several years, building water networks to bring clean water to 70,000 people in rural communities through the generous support of the European Union and Swiss Government. Before the escalation in violence, 10 million people were without access to clean water across the country.
On the 18th April 2015, the Saudi led coalition airstrikes targeted a qat market called Al-Khafji market in the Bani Moath area of Saada, Sahar district, 7kms north of the city, killing 7 civilians including 2 children and wounding at least 7 including 2 children. All of the victims were believed to be ordinary civilians and qat sellers.
On 15th April 2015, the Saudi led coalition airstrikes struck a petrol station in Saada City where approximately 50 cars were waiting for petrol. At least 5 people were identified as killed in the attack and 23 injured, although it is likely many more (at least 8 people were reported as too badly burnt to be identified).
This is the Human Rights Watch report of the incident:
Jarman Petrol Station
On April 15, at least one aerial bomb struck the Jarman petrol station in western Saada City, killing at least five people and injuring 23 – though likely many more -- who were waiting in line to fill their cars with gasoline. Abed Abd al-Rahman Ali, 23, a car mechanic, told Human Rights Watch that about 50 cars were lined up outside the petrol station, known as the Jarman Station, next to his workshop.The combined effect of the war and the coalition blockade had created long lines at petrol stations all over Yemen. Ali said he heard an airplane overhead at about 1 p.m. and then a loud explosion. A bomb had hit the gas station’s roof, causing it to collapse in a fireball that incinerated some of the vehicles. Ali, who said he ran out to help the wounded, described a chaotic scene at the station: “I saw four sets of limbs completely severed so we don’t know who they belonged to.” Ansar Allah’s civil affairs office provided Human Rights Watch the names of five people who died in the attack and 23 wounded. Medical personnel told Human Rights Watch that they were not able to identify eight people after the attack because they were too badly burned, indicating a higher casualty figure.
Witnesses described seeing many victims after the attack. Ali said that he saw about 15 to 20 bodies on the ground and about 20 to 25 people with burns and fragmentation wounds. His brother, Osamah Abd al-Rahman Ali, told Human Rights Watch he arrived at the scene minutes after the strike and saw at least eight bodies, including some with severed limbs, and 16 wounded.
Human Rights Watch was also not able to establish how many of those killed were civilians. The Ansar Allah civil affairs office told Human Rights Watch that the people whose deaths they had documented were all civilians. Ali told Human Rights Watch that he did not see anybody at the station carrying weapons. Another Saada resident, however, told Human Rights Watch that the Houthis used the Jarman petrol station as the main one at which to refuel their vehicles.
Satellite imagery recorded around 10:30 a.m. on April 15, about two and a half hours before the airstrike, shows a line of several dozen vehicles stretching approximately 175 meters from the petrol station. The vehicles appear small in size consistent with passenger cars and pickup trucks. Satellite imagery recorded on May 2 shows extensive building destruction and fire-burned cars surrounding the petrol station consistent with the detonation of aerial munitions and secondary fuel tank fires.
During its investigation of the site, Human Rights Watch found that the concrete overhang above the petrol pumps had collapsed, consistent with witnesses’ claims that a bomb struck the roof. There were seven burned-out vehicles in close proximity to the station. All of the vehicles appeared civilian. Five of the vehicles were small passenger mini-buses. Two cars were regular personal cars. Photos from the immediate aftermath of the attack that Human Rights Watch reviewed do not show any additional vehicles that would appear to be military.
Because of the importance of fuel for military operations, depriving belligerent forces of fuel supplies is a legitimate military objective. Even so, for the coalition to attack a petrol station in the middle of the day when it could reasonably be determined that many civilians were present, instead of at night and after providing a specific warning, is contrary to the obligations to take all feasible precautions to minimize civilian harm and may amount to an unlawfully indiscriminate or disproportionate attack.
The following daily report by the Legal Center for Rights and Development confirm the strike on Jarman petrol station including many casualties from this incident plus many other incidents that same day.
The following videos from Almasirah TV include footage from the incident. WARNING: the following videos are graphic and distressing.
They are put here as evidence of war crimes, to call on the UN for an
independent inquiry, and to call on Western governments to honour the
Arms Treaty and to stop the supply of weapons to Saudi Arabia.
On 15th April 2015, the Saudi led coalition airstrikes bombed a residential area in Hawth in Amran governorate in Yemen, killing up to 45 people including women and children, and injuring up to 70 more.
The airstrikes hit two bridges, shops, a petrol station, cars, a gas locomotive, a truck carrying animal feed, shops, markets and homes. One of the strikes on a bridge killed IDPs as they were fleeing the area of Saada to take refuge in Amran, following the official announcement by the Saudi led coalition that Saada was a target and that civilians should leave the area.
The following report by the Legal Center for Rights and Development documents the crimes, and states that this was a poor residential area with no military camp located there.
The following videos recorded some of the damage in that area at that time. WARNING they include some graphic footage that you may find disturbing.
On 15th April 2015, the Saudi coalition airstrikes targeted a petrol station at Al Hamdan, Al Mazroua area in Sahar district, 16kms northeast of the Saada city in Yemen, killing at least 2 civilians and injuring at least 6 others, most of whom were farmers. This was just one of a series of raids on petrol stations in the area during this time.
On 15th April 2015, the Saudi led coalition airstrikes hit a house in Saada City killing four people (a mother and her 3 children). This is the Human Rights Watch report of the incident:
In the early hours of April 15, an airstrike hit a residential house in northwest Saada City, killing four people, a woman and her three children, and wounding three to five people, including two children. Abd al-Razak Qamis, 34, told Human Rights Watch that he heard many airstrikes during the night of April 14/15. One of the strikes hit the home of his neighbor, Ahsen Mohsen al-Sabra, a shopkeeper, and his family of eight. Qamis told Human Rights Watch:
"I heard a plane overhead, and then this loud explosion. I looked out of the window, which had shattered with the explosion, and saw Ahsen jumping out of the window of the second floor of the house, clutching his 10-year-old son. I wanted to run outside but was scared that the aircraft might strike us again if we gathered outside."
After 20 minutes, Qamis felt that it was safe enough to run outside to help the family. Qamis said that the attack killed al-Sabra’s wife and three of his children. A local resident gave Human Rights Watch photos that included one of the destroyed al-Sabra house and several showing three children who appear under the age of 10 lying, apparently lifeless, on the floor. One photo shows what appears to be a covered, larger body lying next to the children.
Al-Jumhouri hospital records show that three people from the al-Sabra family, including two boys, ages 10 and 12, received treatment at the hospital on April 18. Qamis said that the attack also wounded al-Sabra’s pregnant daughter and a woman in a neighboring house. The Ansar Allah list does not contain information about any Houthi casualties from this attack. Human Rights Watch visited the impact site on May 15. The strike appeared to have destroyed a significant part of the al-Sabra house and caused damage to two adjacent houses. Bricks and other debris from the house partially filled a large crater in front of the house, about three meters in diameter. Human Rights Watch was not able to identify any potential military targets in the vicinity and did not see any remnants to help identify the type of weapon used.
On 14th April 2015, the Saudi led coalition airstrikes hit a marginalised community in al-Akma North East of Ta'iz, Yemen, killing 10 civilians including 7 children and 2 women, and injuring 14 others.
The following excepts are from Amnesty International's reports that mention the incident:
In an earlier attack investigated by Amnesty International the same type of bomb dropped by the coalition destroyed a cluster of three houses in al-Akma village (Ta’iz governorate) on 14 April. That strike killed 10 members of the al-Hujairi family, including seven children, a woman and an elderly man, and injured 14 other relatives, most of them children and women.
Rabi’ Mohamed al-Haddadi, a neighbour who helped rescue the dead and wounded, told Amnesty International: “We gathered the body parts, the bodies were torn to pieces.”
The bomb, identified from the markings on fragments found at the site by Amnesty International as a US-designed General Purpose Mark 84 (MK84, also known as BLU-117), manufactured in 1983 and contains over 400 kg of high explosive. Field investigations showed that the bomb failed to detonate on impact, limiting potentially greater destruction and more civilian casualties.
....
Al-Akma village (Ta’iz governorate), 14 April 2015
At approximately 12:30AM on 14 April, an airstrike killed 10 civilians of the al-Hujairi family, including seven children, a woman and an elderly man, and injured 14 other relatives, most of them children and women. It struck a marginalized residential area in al-Akma village, where people live in humble dwellings made of corrugated iron and cardboard.
The village, 20km north-east of the city of Ta’iz, lies in between two Huthi/Saleh loyalist-controlled military installations, which are between 500 metres and 1km outside the village in either direction.
Rabi’ Mohamed al-Haddadi, a neighbour who helped rescue the dead and wounded, told Amnesty International:
“On Saturday night [14 April] at about 12AM, a rocket hit a cluster of three houses that belong to al-Hujairi family. All the dead and wounded were from the same family. We gathered the body parts, the bodies were torn to pieces. After that airstrike, they left the area and we never saw them again … those people were poor ... What did they do to deserve to be killed?”
He spoke about the frequent airstrikes:
“In the same week the airstrike happened on our village, there were two previous airstrikes in the same week on 22 May military camp west of our village. It was the first and only strike on our village. Up to a week before Ramadan, the strikes continued targeting the military camp.”
Wadhha, another resident present on the night of the airstrike, described the aftermath:
“It was approximately 12:00 at night when I heard the plane flying over us. My neighbour came to my house because she had heard the plane too and told me to get up and wear my ‘abaya [long traditional dress worn outdoors]. I told her that I sleep in my ‘abaya all the time. Then I heard the explosion. I thought that the house was going to collapse on my head. I was at home on my own. I kept reciting the shahada [Islamic profession of faith] and waited for death. We had been warned not to go out if a rocket lands in order to avoid shrapnel… Then, after it was quiet again, I went out to see. It smelt like tyres were burning. I no longer understood what was going on. I fainted and fell to the ground… We are now all displaced. We only come back here for quick visits but we do not sleep in our homes.”
On 14 April at approximately 12.30am, a coalition airstrike killed ten civilians, including seven children and two women, and injured 14 others in al-Akma village. The airstrike struck a residential area of the village where members of the “muhammashin” (marginalized) community live in dwellings made of corrugated iron and cardboard. Al-Akma Village, 20km north-east of the city of Ta’iz, falls between two Huthi/Saleh loyalist-controlled military installations, both belonging to 22 May Brigade, around 500m to 1km from the east and west of the village. Wadhha, a resident of the village, described to Amnesty International the airstrike and its aftermath:
“I was inside the house and the plane was flying at 12:30 at night. My neighbour came to me and told me that the plane is flying and that I should get up and wear my abaya. I told her that I wear the abaya all the time and I also sleep wearing it [to be ready to flee at a moment’s notice]. Then I heard the explosion. I thought that the house was going to collapse on my head. I was at home on my own. I kept reciting the shahada, and waited for death. We had been warned not to go out if a rocket lands in order to avoid shrapnel… Then after it was quiet again I went out to see. It was as if tires were burning. I no longer understood what was going on. I fainted and fell to the ground… We are now all displaced. We only come back here for quick visits but we do not sleep in our homes for fear of the airstrikes.”
According to the information obtained by Amnesty International, no combatants or military objectives were in the vicinity of the house, and the nearest military objective was the 22 May Military Camp, which is several hundreds of meters away.
On the 13th May 2015, the Saudi led coalition struck many places in Saada governorate, killing 3 civilians and injuring 17 others including 2 women, 1 child and an old man. They Saada bombed Al-Khafgy market, the passports building, the power plant and the technical institute. Residents of Saada hid in caves. Hospitals were left without power. Airstrikes also reportedly hit an iron factory in Aden governorate, transmission lines in Marib and homes in Al-Baidah province.
This it the Legal Center for Rights and Development's report for that day:
A total blackout in many cities across yemen after Saudi/US led airstrike tafgeted power cables in marib and in Nehim E Sanaa.
On the 12th April 2015, the Saudi led coalition airstrikes hit Ibb stadium as well as a residential area, destroying the home of Mr Abdu Ali Al-Absi killing 9 members of his family, including 1 woman and 5 children, and injuring 6.
This report by the Legal Center for Rights and Development details the incidents that day.
WARNING: the following videos are graphic and distressing.
They are put here as evidence of war crimes, to call on the UN for an
independent inquiry, and to call on Western governments to honour the
Arms Treaty and to stop the supply of weapons to Saudi Arabia.
The following amateur videos capture some of the fear and panic when the airstrikes hit this densley populated city that day.
The man filming in the following footage is standing on the rubble just after an airstrike and he is saying "we need a winch, we need a winch".
The man filming on the following video says "oh my God have mercy on us, the hit was on
the stadium" as well as "why the hell did they attack the stadium?"
The following amateur footage shows smoke rising from the city and gives an indication of how densley populated the area is.
http://www.mwatana.org/en/132016446
http://www.mwatana.org/en/132016446
