27th Oct 2015, cluster munitions dropped by Saudi led coalition on Ahma in Yemen

On 27th October 2015, the Saudi led coalition dropped banned cluster munitions over the area of Ahma in the Sahar directorate in Yemen 40kms south of the Saudi Arabia border. At least 4 people were injured and unexploded munitions remain strewn on farmland.

#Yemen: 4yr-old Hasna wounded by #Brazil-ian suspected cluster bombs dropped by #Saudi coalition in Saada pic.twitter.com/qxwXkKQkEM

— Rasha Mohamed (@RashaMoh2) October 30, 2015

The following is from an Amnesty International report:

Saudi Arabia-led coalition forces appear to have used a Brazilian variant of internationally banned cluster munitions on a residential neighbourhood in Ahma in Sa’da, northern Yemen, this week, wounding at least four people and leaving dangerous unexploded submunitions strewn around the surrounding farmland, Amnesty International said today.

The organization interviewed a number of local residents including two victims, the medical personnel treating them, an eyewitness and a local activist who visited the site shortly after the attack. Unexploded “duds” pictured at the attack site bear similarities to Brazilian-manufactured cluster bombs Saudi Arabia is known to have used in the past.

“Because cluster munitions are inherently indiscriminate weapons, their use is prohibited by customary international humanitarian law. In fact, nearly 100 states have totally banned their production, stockpiling, transfer and use, in recognition of the unique and lasting harm they cause,” said Philip Luther, Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International.

“In addition to killing and injuring civilians when they are initially used, many submunitions fail to explode upon impact and continue to pose a risk to the lives of anyone who comes into contact with them for years. The Saudi Arabia-led coalition must immediately cease their use and all sides should publicly commit never to deploy cluster munitions and agree to join the global Convention on Cluster Munitions.”

The cluster munition attack was carried out at around noon on 27 October 2015 in a residential area of Ahma, approximately 10km north-west of al-Talh in Sahar directorate, near Sa’da city. Ahma is approximately 40km south of the border with Saudi Arabia.

A local activist who visited the site several hours after the attack found three unexploded submunitions around 20m apart, one in the field of a local farm, another near a greenhouse and the third next to a mosque. The nearest military objective known to Amnesty International is a market in al-Talh, approximately 10km to the south-east, which is known to sell weapons and has been targeted by airstrikes on at least five different occasions since the start of the Saudi Arabia-led bombardment campaign in March.

Eyewitnesses described how, despite the complete absence of military aircraft, a series of rockets screamed across the sky and exploded in mid-air, followed by dozens of explosions on the ground. These accounts and the remnants found on the ground are consistent with the use of cluster munitions fired via surface-to-surface rockets, using a multiple launch rocket system (MLRS).

Salah al-Zar’a, 35, a local farmer, was on the main road 50m away when the strike occurred: “I was on my motorcycle going in the direction of Dhahyan with another friend, when I saw… four rockets coming down… Each went in a different direction with two minutes between each rocket. There were four explosions in the sky first and then 50 explosions when they hit the ground. They landed on a group of 30 houses and shops.”

Saleh al-Mu’awadh, 48, a farmer who has 10 children, spoke to Amnesty International over the phone from his hospital bed in al-Jamhouri hospital in Sa’da city: “I was passing by on my motorbike on the main road next to the attack site, when all I felt was pieces of shrapnel. The impact of the strike affected farms a couple of kilometres away from the site.”

According to medical personnel treating the patients, one of the injured, 25-year-old Abdelaziz Abd Rabbu is in a critical condition with shrapnel injuries to the abdomen and chest.

Abdelbari Hussein, 22, another civilian injured in the attack, told Amnesty International: “I was sitting in my shop when the attack happened. I did not hear a plane, all I heard was the explosions.” He sustained shrapnel injuries to the abdomen.

Even though the attack may have targeted Huthi and other armed groups among the civilian population, the use of inherently indiscriminate weapons like cluster munitions is absolutely prohibited by international humanitarian law. Any use of cluster weapons violates this rule.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/10/yemen-brazilian-cluster-munitions-suspected-in-saudi-arabia-led-coalition-attack/

3clusterbomb droppd by #Saudi #UAE jets on cucumbers farm in Sihaar Saada #Yemen #YemenCrisis #HRW Anyone know type? pic.twitter.com/J2oID1JCq9

— Hussain Albukhaiti (@HussainBukhaiti) October 28, 2015

Ref: 15102701

2nd July 2015, 5 civilians killed in Al-Zaraa neighbourbood, Sahaar, Yemen, when 2 houses hit by coalition airstrike

On 2nd July 2015, 2 houses were struck by the Saudi led coalition airstrikes in the Al-Zaraa neighbourhood of Sahaar district, 12 kms north-west of Sadah, killing 5 civilians including 3 children and a woman, and wounding seven others including 3 women. After the first house was hit the fleeing residents took shelter in a neighbouring house which was then struck as well.  A witness explained that none of the victims were members of the Houthi group, and the houses of Houthi leaders were not damaged at all.

This is Mwatana's report of the incident:

http://www.mwatana.org/en/132016446

Ref: 15070202

8th June 2015, coalition airstrike hits a farm on Beni Ma'ath Yemen, killing 2 pregant women and 3 children

On 8th June 2015, a Saudi led coalition struck a farm sending 22 family members flying dozens of meters away, killing 2 pregnant women and 3 children and injuring 2 children and an elderly man, all from the same family. This is Amnesty International's report of the incident:

BENI MA’ATH, SABR, SAHAR, SA’DA, 8 JUNE

On the morning of 8 June, a coalition forces airstrike on a farm in Beni Ma’ath, a rural area north-west of Sa’da city, killed three children and two pregnant women, as well as injuring two children and a 61-year-old man from the Halhal family.

The strikes created a 10-meter wide crater, where Amnesty International found remnants of a US-designed Mark (MK) 80 series general purpose bomb.Survivors told Amnesty International that three consecutive airstrikes hit the farm, sending some of the 22 family members flying dozens of meters away. They said that they did not find the body of one of the children killed in the strike until four days later. Amnesty International found no evidence of military activities around the house, where the family’s meagre possessions were strewn dozens of meters from the ruins of the house.

Ammar Mohammed Halhal, a 28-year-old farmer and father of four who survived the attack, but lost his pregnant wife and his daughter, told Amnesty International:

“I don’t know why they bombed us. We are just simple farmers, we grow qat and vegetables. We are poor and spend our time working to eke a living for our families. They killed us for no reason. My wife, Nabila Ali and my little girl Fatime, my brothers Saqar and Abdullatif, who are both two years old, and my stepmother Safia Ghaleb were all killed. My wife and my stepmother were both in the last month of their pregnancies. My father and my little brother and sister, both three years old, were injured. The bombs were so powerful that we were blown far from the house. It took four days to find the body of little Abdullatif; he had been blown more than 50 meters away”.

Ammar Mohammed Halhal’s father, Mohammed, who sustained multiple injuries to his back, neck and arms, said:

“The explosion sent me flying all the way to that tree, some 30 meters from the house”.

NOWHERE SAFE FOR CIVILIANS’ 15AIRSTRIKES AND GROUND ATTACKS IN YEMEN
Index: MDE 31/2291/2015 Amnesty International August 2015

The following daily report from the Legal Center for Rights and Development also lists this incident 'The warplanes bombed Saber vale in Sehar district and killed 6 civilians from one family' as well as many others that occured on the same day.

Ref: 15060801

5th May 2015, mother and 7 children killed in Sahar distrcit, Yemen, when coalition airstrike hits home

On the 5th Mayy 2015, the Saudi led coalition airstrike struck a home in Al-Thabyan village, 20kms north-west of Sadah city, killing 8 civilians including a mother and her 7 children.

This is from a HRW report:

On May 5, an aerial attack struck the house of Muhammed al-Hibbi, killing his wife and all seven children when the roof collapsed on top of them, according to his cousin, Nuh Ahmed al-Hibbi.Human Rights Watch did not visit the impact site, but medical staff corroborated the number of casualties. 

Targeting Saada: Unlawful Coalition Airstrikes on Saada City in Yemen
June 30, 2015 Human Rights Watch

This is Mwatana's report of the incident:

 www.mwatana.org/en/132016446

Ref: 15050501

15th April 2015, Al Hamdan petrol station targeted by coalition airstrike in Yemen killing at least 2 civilians injuring 6

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.

This is Mwatana's report of the incident:

http://www.mwatana.org/en/132016446

Some other strikes on petrol stations on the same day can be read here:
http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/15th-apr-2015-up-to-45-killed-many.html
http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/april-15th-2015-petrol-station-with.html

Ref: 15041504