Spokesperson for the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights:
Ravina Shamdasani
Location: Geneva
Date: 6 August 2019
Yemen
Over the past 10 days, we have
documented a number of deeply worrying developments in Yemen that have had a
serious impact on civilians across the country, including in Aden, Taiz, San’a,
Sa’daa, Al Dhale and other areas. Armed groups affiliated with Al Qaeda and
ISIS also appear to have intensified their activities in the country.
Since 27 July, the UN Human Rights
Office has verified 19 civilian deaths in Taiz, Sa’ada and Aden and 42
civilians injured. The majority of the civilian deaths resulted from an attack
in the Al Thabet market area of Sa’ada Governorate on 29 July, when 14
civilians were killed and 26 injured. There are conflicting reports about which
party to the conflict carried out the attacks.
On 28 July, military forces and
popular committees affiliated with the Houthis allegedly launched
indiscriminate attacks in Al-Rawdhah neighbourhood in Taiz, killing one child
and injuring three other civilians. This followed other similar attacks in
previous days by Houthi-affiliated forces. There have also been reports of
attacks hitting medical and educational facilities, including a 31 July attack
damaging a hospital emergency department and ambulances in Taiz.
In Aden and Abyan in the south, a
series of attacks took place on 1 and 2 August against a police station and
military camps. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack on the police
station. A ballistic missile reportedly launched by the Houthis was responsible
for the attack on 1 August in Aden during a military parade, while armed groups
affiliated with Al Qaeda reportedly attacked another military camp in Abyan
governorate on 2 August. In apparent
retaliation for these attacks, the “security-belt” forces are reportedly
carrying out and enabling retaliatory attacks against civilians from the
northern parts of Yemen, who are being rounded up, assaulted, harassed and
forcibly displaced to the areas bordering other governorates. We have received
information from multiple sources about arbitrary arrests and detention, forced
displacement, physical assaults and harassment as well as looting and vandalism
by the security forces against hundreds of northerners. Reports suggest that
security forces searched hotels and restaurants, stopping people, demanding
their identification, and rounding up those hailing from the northern parts of
Yemen. We remind parties to the conflict that such arrests and forced
displacements breach international human rights and humanitarian law. Parties
to a non-international armed conflict may not order the displacement of the
civilian population, in whole or in part, for reasons related to the conflict,
unless the security of the civilians involved or imperative military reasons so
demand. We are continuing to gather information about the number of people
displaced and details of the violations they have been subjected to, but
initial reports suggest hundreds have already been displaced.
We also remain deeply concerned
about the situation in Al Dhale, in southwest Yemen, since the escalation of
military operations there in March 2019, including the use of landmines – which
are by their very nature indiscriminate – as well as airstrikes, shelling and
ground fighting. Since March, fighting between the warring parties has resulted
in at least 26 civilians killed and 45 injured, although due to lack of access
to the area, the figures are likely to be much higher than what we have been
able to verify. The only water reserve in Al Dhale is reportedly under the
control of the Houthis and many water pumps have stopped working or been
damaged, thus cutting water supplies to parts of the population.
We urge all parties to the conflict
to seek to de-escalate the situation, and to ensure that any attacks on
civilians and civilian infrastructure are meaningfully investigated and the
perpetrators brought to justice.
ENDS
For more information and media
requests, please contact: Rupert Colville - + 41 22 917 9767 /
rcolville@ohchr.org or Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 /
rshamdasani@ohchr.org
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