But even if a strike was on a military target, it may have unlawfully caused disproportionate civilian casualties. Human Rights Watch researchers found remnants consistent with a US-made JDAM satellite-guided bomb at the site.
A coalition airstrike on Souq al-Hinood, a densely populated neighborhood in Hodeida, on September 21 killed at least 28 civilians, including eight children, and wounded 32 others. The only known military target in the vicinity was the city’s Presidential Palace, about 450 to 500 meters away, which was bombed earlier that day.
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© 2016 Human Rights Watch
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Between March 2015 and October 2016, at least
4,125 civilians were killed and 7,207 wounded in Yemen, according to the
UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the majority by
coalition airstrikes. OHCHR reported
in August that airstrikes had been the “single largest cause of
casualties” over the past year. The Houthis and their allies, including forces
loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, have also committed numerous
serious abuses.
The Saudi-led coalition has repeatedly used
US-produced weapons in unlawful attacks. US-produced weapons were used in two
of the war’s deadliest incidents so far: the March 15 attack on
Mastaba market, which killed at least 97 civilians, and the October
8 attack on a funeral hall in
Sanaa, the capital, which killed at least 100 people and wounded
more than 500. Both attacks appear to have been war crimes.
The continued transfer of arms by the United
States to Saudi Arabia, despite evidence of their repeated use in unlawful
attacks, may make the US
complicit in some of the coalition’s violations in Yemen. The
US is also party to the conflict in Yemen, providing targeting intelligence and
refueling planes during bombing raids, but the US has not announced any
independent investigation into its actions in the Yemen war. According to a
Reuters investigation, US officials debated
internally whether US support to the coalition could make US
personnel criminally liable for war crimes in Yemen.
In May, the US suspended transfers of cluster
munitions to Saudi Arabia. However, President Barack Obama, before he leaves
office, should halt all arms transfers to Saudi Arabia and make the cluster
munition ban permanent and extend it to all other countries, Human Rights Watch
said.
Immediately following the October 8 funeral
hall attack, the US National Security Council announced the
US had “initiated an immediate review of our already significantly reduced
support” to the coalition and was “prepared to adjust our support.” The US has
made no further announcements regarding how it planned to alter support for the
war in Yemen nor released any findings from the review. President Obama should
ensure that the review examines whether US forces participated in
any unlawful coalition attacks in Yemen, and release the review
findings before leaving office, Human Rights Watch said.
The government of the United Kingdom also
sells arms to Saudi Arabia, despite growing parliamentary pressure over its
support for Saudi Arabia’s military campaign in Yemen and evidence of the use
of British-made weapons in Yemen. Human Rights Watch has documented the
use of UK-made weapons in three apparently unlawful coalition attacks in Yemen.
Since March 2015, the UK has approved £3.3 billion in military sales to Saudi
Arabia, according to
the London-based Campaign Against Arms Trade.
On November 15, the UK Foreign and
Commonwealth Office concluded, despite considerable evidence to the contrary,
that there was no clear
risk of serious Saudi breaches of international humanitarian
law in Yemen. The ministry had previously issued six corrections to statements,
walking back its initial denial of coalition laws-of-war violations in Yemen.
But it noted that, “UK Defence personnel are unable to form a complete
understanding of the coalition’s regard for international humanitarian law in
Yemen as they do not have access to all the information required to do so.”
Neither the Saudi-led coalition’s Joint
Investigation Assessment Team (JIAT) nor the Yemeni-led National Commission has
announced investigations into the three airstrikes. JIAT, after releasing initial
investigation results into eight airstrikes on August 4 that largely absolved
the coalition of responsibility, has only published initial results of
one additional investigation, the October 8 funeral hall airstrike, after the
strike received widespread international condemnation. JIAT’s published
investigations have failed to meet
international standards for credible and transparent
investigations into laws of war violations, Human Rights Watch said.
In September, the UN Human Rights Council
passed a resolution mandating the UN human rights office to deploy additional
human rights experts to investigate abuses by all sides, and report publicly on
its findings. These three attacks highlight the need for the warring parties
and concerned governments to fully support the office’s expanded investigative
mandate, Human Rights Watch said.
“Governments selling weapons to Saudi Arabia
cannot with any credibility rely on either coalition or Yemeni-led
investigations to determine whether these weapons are being used against
civilians,” Motaparthy said. “The US, UK, and others selling weapons to Saudi
Arabia should suspend these sales until unlawful attacks are curtailed and
properly investigated.”
Arhab Water Drilling
Site, September 10, 2016
Casualties: At
least 31 civilians killed, including three children, and 42 injured.
Munitions Identified: Two
GBU-12 Paveway II laser guided 500-pound bombs. One bomb wing assembly produced
by Raytheon in the US in October 2015. Second bomb wing assembly produced in
the US in 2015, exact manufacture date unknown.
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| © 2016 Human Rights Watch |
Before dawn on September 10, coalition
aircraft struck the site of a water drilling rig near Beit Saadan village in
the Arhab district, 30 kilometers north of Sanaa. The drill rig was in an
unpopulated area reachable only by dirt road, about two kilometers from the
nearest village. Multiple strikes over the course of the morning killed at
least 31 civilians and wounded 42 more, according to OHCHR.
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Remnant of a wing assembly that is mounted on a US-made GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided 500-pound bomb found at the Arhab water drilling site, Sanaa governorate, where at least 31 civilians were killed in an airstrike on September 10, 2016. According to the national stock number, this wing assembly was produced in the US in 2015, some time before October.
© 2016 Priyanka Motaparthy / Human Rights Watch
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The first strike hit near a workers’ shelter
occupied by nearly a dozen workers and managers, killing six and wounding five
others. At about 9 a.m., after several dozen villagers came to remove the
bodies of those killed and examine the site, three planes returned and proceeded
to bomb the vicinity at least 12 more times, about 15 minutes apart, witnesses
said. The strikes lasted until about noon, killing at least 15 civilians, and
wounding dozens more. Human Rights Watch independently confirmed the names and
ages of 21 people who died in the attack, including three boys ages 12, 14, and
15.
Yehia Abdullah, a 34-year-old teacher, said he
spent the evening with his brother Muhammed and other workers at the site. His
brother died in the first strike. Abdullah, who had left the site 20 minutes
earlier, was on his way back when he heard the bombing:
I saw the light of a bomb on the site of the
drill rig. I tried to reach them by phone, but no one answered. … I arrived
while the drill machine was operating and saw scattered and charred bodies.
Everyone was in his place where he had been working or sitting. I saw five
bodies including my brother Muhamad. First I found my brother’s severed leg
outside the [workers’ shelter], about six meters, his arm on the door … and
half his body buried in the ruins.
Salim al-Sadani, a local farmer, said that
when he learned that his uncle Mahdi al-Sadani had died in the airstrike, he
went to the site, arriving at about 8 a.m.
About 300 people, including the dead’s
relatives, [were there] to remove the bodies. … I saw two warplanes arriving
from the south. Between 8 and 9 a.m., I saw the missile coming down to ground
as I was [here] next to my uncle's body.
Sadani said he lost consciousness briefly when
the strike threw him to the ground:
I saw
myself full of blood and ran away. I just saw smoke and flame. I saw a body of
an old man in front of me, he is from [Thinah], the neighboring village. He was
dead. I was taken to [the] hospital. I was injured by [fragments] in the left
hand … as well as [fragments] in my back.
Several witnesses said that three coalition
planes circled overhead, striking the area in widening circles as those
gathered attempted to escape. People ran in all directions to escape the
bombing, they said.
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Remains of the workers’ shelter at the Arhab water drilling site in the Sanaa governorate. At least 31 civilians died, including 3 children, when several airstrikes hit the drilling rig and surrounding area on September 10, 2016.
© 2016 Priyanka Motaparthy / Human Rights Watch
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Human Rights Watch visited the site on
November 10, and examined the rubble of the workers’ shelter, as well as the
burned wreckage of a fuel tanker truck. There were at least 11 bomb craters or
impact sites in the immediate area. Footage of the site taken the day of the
strikes shows many burned and mutilated bodies.
Human Rights Watch examined and photographed
remnants of a US-made GBU-12 Paveway II laser guided 500-pound bomb. A part of
the guidance system (wing assembly) was produced by Raytheon in the US in
October 2015, according to markings on the remnants.
Residents of Beit Saadan said that they had
pooled together 22 million Yemeni Rials (US$88,000) of their personal funds to
pay to drill the well to supply drinking water to their village. The bombing
occurred on the last day of planned drilling, after the villagers had struck
water, a local farmer said. Several witnesses said that no Houthi fighters or
military equipment were stationed in the area before the strikes.
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The burned remains of a fuel tanker in Arhab at the site of the water drill attack in the Sanaa governorate. The well under construction was meant to supply Beit al-Saadan, a nearby village, with water. Human Rights Watch found no evidence of military operations or materiel at the site.
© 2016 Kristine Beckerle/ Human Rights Watch
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When Agence France Presse questioned a coalition
spokesman, Gen. Ahmed al-Assiri, about the attack, he replied, “All our strikes in that area target Houthi positions.” The
coalition has not announced an investigation into the attack.
Deliberate or indiscriminate attacks on
civilians and civilian infrastructure are a serious violation of the laws of
war, and if carried out intentionally or recklessly are war crimes.
Al-Zaydiya Security Administration,
October 29, 2016
Casualties: 63
Houthi personnel and civilians killed and 67 wounded.
Weapons Identified: US-made
JDAM satellite guidance system.
Between 8 and 9 p.m. on October 29, three
airstrikes hit the al-Zaydiya security administration, 60 kilometers north of
the city of Hodaida, in the Hodaida governorate. Beyond using the building as a
jail, the Houthis and allied forces based military personnel and trucks mounted
with machine guns at the facility, making it a legitimate military target.
Human Rights Watch could not determine whether these personnel and vehicles
were there at the time of the attack.
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One of the three bombs that hit al-Zaydiya security directorate, Hodeida governorate, came through the ceiling next door to the director’s office. The attack killed at least 63 security personnel and detainees.
© 2016 Kristine Beckerle / Human Rights Watch
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The strikes killed at least 63 people and
injured 67, according to OHCHR. Many of the casualties were alleged criminal
and security detainees held at the facility without charge, including at least
two children. The Sanaa-based Foreign Affairs Ministry wrote on
December 1, in response to a Human Rights Watch letter, that there
were about 126 people, including both prisoners and staff, at the detention
facility at the time of the attack. The ministry wrote that 62 people were
killed, including 30 prisoners. Human Rights Watch could not confirm how many
of those killed or injured were prisoners and how many were security
administration officials.
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Remnants of a US-made JDAM satellite-guided bomb at the al-Zaydiya security directorate in Hodeida governorate, where coalition bombs killed at least 63 people on October 29.
© 2016 Priyanka Motaparthy / Human Rights Watch
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The Foreign Affairs Ministry’s letter explained
that the security administration had two sets of wards, the first housing 84
criminal suspects and the second, the former women’s section, housing 22 men
accused of “terrorism,” working with the coalition or working to undermine
state security. A guard and former detainee confirmed to Human Rights Watch
that the detention facility held about 60 criminal suspects and about 30
alleged security detainees. Human Rights Watch interviewed former detainees
held in both buildings.
Six former detainees said that they had been
held between several months and several years on suspicion of common crimes.
Most had no access to legal counsel or judicial review throughout their
detention. The ministry said all the detainees were under investigation or had
charges brought against them. “Saeed,” a prisoner in Al-Zaydiya, told Human
Rights Watch that he had been held in the former women’s section for at least four
months, based on Houthi accusations that he was in the armed opposition. He
said:
I’m not
a soldier and I’ve never been a soldier. They took me and covered my eyes and
put me here. They interrogated me a few times while my eyes were covered. No
one was allowed to visit me, and they never took me to the prosecutor or the
court.
A source from Al-Zaydiya familiar with the
security administration said that the Houthis used the facility as a base for
military operations in the area, an allegation that the Foreign Affairs
Ministry denied in its letter to Human Rights Watch. However, members of Houthi
popular committees, which the ministry described as “undertake[ing] and
administer[ing] security activities… [to] assist the concerned security
entities in fulfilling their duty to maintain security and stability during the
Saudi aggression,” oversaw the security detainees, the letter said. Members of
popular committees who are full-time fighters are subject to attack.
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The destroyed remains of one of the wards in al-Zaydiya security directorate in Hodeida governorate. This ward and two others held at least 100 prisoners at the time of the coalition attack. Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that trucks equipped with mounted machine guns were sometimes stationed at the site.
© 2016 Kristine Beckerle / Human Rights Watch
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The airstrikes hit the roof of the
administration building; one of two cells holding male suspects; and the
facility’s women’s cell, the separate building used to house security
detainees.
“Ahmed,” who had been detained in the
facility’s main section, said that when the first strike hit:
[We]
ran to the door and tried to get out, [we were] asking to be let out. … Then
the second missile hit, and then the third on my ward. All the prisoners were
at the door when it hit.Ahmed said he lost consciousness after the
third strike. He suffered burns on more than 40 percent of his body as a result
of the strike.
“Abdullah,” another detainee, said:
I was
injured in my leg… in the first strike. I tried to protect [myself by lying] on
the ground after the first bomb. The third bomb came into my cell. After it
finished, I saw that most of the prisoners were dead. I saw a hole in the wall
so I went out, then I was in the street. Two people with a motorbike took me to
[the hospital].
A guard at the facility said:
I [had gone] home to eat dinner. I was 200
meters from here…[when] I heard the bombing. It shook the home. I ran outside
to see what was happening, then there were more strikes. I was scared and ran
away.
The prison workers made an opening so they
[the prisoners] could leave. I didn’t have time to get the key, I feel ashamed
about that. I was scared and far away. Some people [prisoners] ran away through
the opening in the wall.
Human Rights Watch visited the facility on
November 6. The attack had significantly damaged the jail’s reception area and
destroyed one of two large cells holding male detainees, as well as the main
hallway of the men’s detention center.
Human Rights Watch examined and photographed
remnants of the munitions used in the attacks and determined they were
consistent with a US-made JDAM satellite-guided bomb.
By deploying military forces at a civilian
detention facility, the Houthis failed to take all feasible precautions to
minimize the risk to the detainees.
At the same time, the coalition airstrike on
the detention facility appears to be an unlawfully disproportionate attack
under the laws of war, and a possible war crime. An attack is disproportionate
if the expected civilian harm incurred from the attack is greater than the
attack’s anticipated military advantage. In this incident, any military gain
from the attack would appear small compared with the expected high loss of civilian
life in the detention facility.
Souq al-Hinood
Neighborhood, September 21, 2016
Casualties: At
least 28 civilians killed, including 8 children, and 32 wounded.
Munitions Identified: No
remnants found at the site.
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A three-story house in Souq al-Hinood, a crowded residential area in Hodeida city, that was hit by an airstrike on the evening of September 21, 2016. A single bomb killed at least 28 civilians, including 8 children.
© 2016 Priyanka Motaparthy / Human Rights Watch
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At about 7:15 p.m. on September 21, coalition
aircraft attacked the Presidential Palace in Hodeida, which was still being
used by local authorities. About an hour later, an airstrike hit a home in the
densely populated residential neighborhood of Souq al-Hinood, about 500 meters
from the palace. The strike killed at least 28 civilians, including eight
children, and wounded 32, according to OHCHR. Human Rights Watch confirmed the
names and ages of 24 of those killed, including six children.
Mohammed Ahmad Abduljalil, a local resident, said that on the
night of the bombing, he was holding a funeral for his wife. At least 50 people
had gathered on the street in front of his house, where the family had set up a
tent for mourners, with separate sections for women and men. The strike hit
approximately 30 meters from the funeral site. He said:
When
the strike came, [the guests] ran in all directions…. I was sitting in the
men’s funeral [section]. I and my [granddaughter], she is only 4-years-old,
flew in the air. We were thrown [from the street] to the back of the house.…
She was injured in the head. My 23-year-old son… was cut on his neck and face,
his jaw detached. He also had [fragments] lodged in his leg.
Abduljalil’s son-in-law and his grandson were
killed.
Muhammad Ghareib, 41, a shop owner whose store
is about 150 meters from the strike location, said:
I was inside my shop [when] I heard a very
loud explosion. All the glass in my shop shattered, the dust filled the shop….
I went outside and saw people running away: men, women, and children, some of
them were falling on the ground, some covered with dust and some with blood.
The airstrike directly hit the three-story
building in the middle of [the building]. All the bricks and one balcony fell
over the funeral and [those attending]. About 12 houses were damaged.
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A narrow street in the Souq al-Hinood neighborhood of Hodeida city that was bombed on the evening of September 21, 2016. At the time of the attack Mohammed Ahmed Abduljalil was holding a funeral for his wife in front of his house. Abduljalil’s son and 4-year-old granddaughter were injured in the strike; his son-in-law and his grandson were killed.
© 2016 Priyanka Motaparthy / Human Rights Watch
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None of the witnesses described any military
target in the area other than perhaps the Presidential Palace, which had at
times been used to host meetings with high-level Houthi officials involved in
military operations. The palace was located 450 to 500 meters away from the
neighborhood. The house of the Houthi-affiliated deputy governor, was about 20
meters away, a neighborhood resident said. Armed men in military trucks used to
visit the deputy governor’s house, but the resident was uncertain whether any
were there at the time of the strike.
Human Rights Watch visited the site on
November 7. There was no evidence of a possible military target in the area
other than the Presidential Palace.
The attack on Souq al-Hinood may have been
intended as part of the attack on the Presidential Palace, but it was
apparently unlawfully indiscriminate as it did not distinguish between
civilians and a military objective. Indiscriminate attacks carried out
recklessly are war crimes. The coalition has not announced if it will
investigate the attack.
