14th April 2015, Saudi led coalition airstrikes hit marginalised community in al-Akma village Yemen killing 10 injuring 14

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.

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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.”

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/07/yemen-airstrike-analysis-shows-saudi-arabia-killed-scores-of-civilians/

AL-AKMA, TA’IZ, 14 APRIL

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.

'NOWHERE SAFE FOR CIVILIANS'AIRSTRIKES AND GROUND ATTACKS IN YEMEN Index: MDE 31/2291/2015 Amnesty International August 2015

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