FACT SHEET: Atrocities Committed by Houthi-Saleh Militias in Yemen From September 2014 May 2016 Violations Against Children : December 2014 March 2016 1. Killing and torture: 647 children have been killed by Houthis in 17 provinces, 47% in Taiz 1,822 were injured after cluster bombing on residential areas and public areas by Houthis. 72% were in Taiz 17 killed and 30 injured by landmines used by Houthis 2. Recruitment of children: Houthis and Saleh militia have recruited 561 children between the ages of 9-18. This included: forcing children to fight on war fronts, distributing ammunition, and sexual assaults. 329 names were identified. The rest remain unknown. Families of recruited children are forced to show pride and happiness when their children die. Interviews were documented with more than 20 children captured by prolegitimacy military forces in the province of Aden. Some of these children stated that they were dragged off by Houthi gunmen in the provinces of Dhammar, A mran and Sadah. They were promised money and weapons. 3. Sexual assaults: Per witness testimony, Houthis have been threatening children with images of forced sexual activity to force them into going to battlefields. 4. Attacking schools and hospitals: 959 educational institutions were either destroyed, used for ammunition storage or prisons, or closed down by Houthi forces. This deprived 386,600 children of the right to be educated. The siege of Taiz led to the closing of all hospitals except three, which are partially working. 5. Kidnapping children: 189 children were held hostage to pressure family members to turn themselves in or to pay ransoms.
Testimonials on Children Yemeni children like Fareed Shawky Mohammed Ali Al-Dhimari are victims of Houthi militia rocket bombardment against civilian neighborhoods. When he was five-and-a-half years old, Fareed was hit by shell fragments that exploded next to his home in Taiz on October 23, 2015. His father recounted, He died three days after the explosion. Throughout all that happened, he kept begging not to be laid to rest in the ground, pleading, Don t bury me. Ghaida Haroun Qaid Al Hasan was just 17 days old when she was killed by Houthi rocket fire on September 13, 2015. After the Houthis shelled the Al Rawdhah neighborhood in Taiz, Ghaida s relatives ran to the baby s room to check on her. They found her mother screaming My daughter Ghaida! but the little girl was nowhere to be found. After looking for her, relatives found Ghaida in a pile of rubble. Her body was ripped to shreds. Suha Abdullah Naji, three years old, was on the roof of her house on February 12, 2016. While she was up there, her father recounted, shells hit the roof of a house close by. Shrapnel from the rocket hit Suha and injured her gravely. All attempts to save her failed, and Suha died soon after. Nawara Abdulghani Hammoud Abdelrab, 15 years old, was shot in the head by a sniper when she was in a valley right by her home. One of her neighbors recalled that on March 17, 2016, Nawara was struck by a Houthi sniper s bullet and died immediately. Violation of Truce During the truce period from April 20, 2016, until July 13, 2016, 12,704 violations have been recorded, with 323 individuals killed, 1,288 individuals injured, 21 homes destroyed, and 95 people forced to flee their homes. Arbitrary Detention and Forced Disappearances by the Houthis in Yemen December 21, 2014 April 30, 2016 Arbitrary detention in numbers: 1. A total of 9,949 cases of arbitrary detentions and 2,706 cases of forced disappearance have been recorded; 4,689 were illegally tortured, and 8 detainees died from torture.
2. There are 480 detention centers and prisons operated by the armed Houthi militias. Of these, 227 were in government buildings, 25 in hospitals and medical institutes, 47 in private and public universities, 99 in private and public schools, 25 in gyms and sport clubs, and 47 in judicial buildings. There were 10 secret detention centers. 3. 204 children have been detained during the reporting period. 4. On June 9, 2015, nine journalists were taken from their work places in Sanaa and detained. On October 12, 2015, Houthi-Saleh militias stormed Ibb Garden Hotel in the province of Ibb and kidnapped 29 activists, including journalists and human right defenders, as they were preparing to organize the March of Water to end the siege of Taiz. The number of reported violations against media institutions between December 2014 and December 2015 reached 257. 86 websites are still blocked by the Yemeni Ministry of Information, which is under the control of Houthi-Saleh militias. 5. When A mran fell in Houthis hands in July 2014, Houthis put checkpoints on all roads and entrances to the province. Over 300 were detained and released in return for written promises and monetary compensation. 6. Of those detained: 91 academic professionals and university professors were abducted from their homes, work, or on their way to or from work. 262 military personnel were detained and only released for money, written promises, or information. 1,302 were detained because of their political affiliation, especially those who were pro-hadi 32 in Sana a were put under house arrest, mostly government officials, military leaders, and tribal leaders. There were 2,706 cases of forced disappearance; locations of 75% of cases became known, while the other 25% are still unknown. 60% of detainees were captured at one of the checkpoints that are spread all over cities under Houthi s control. 7. Republican forces carried out 120 waves of arrests in Sana a, A mran, Dhamar, AlBayda, Ibb, and Al Hudaydah, during which 60 people were captured in each wave.
Conditions of detention centers: 1. Detainees are treated inhumanely. Detainees are starved, not allowed to use bathrooms or call families, and deprived of sunlight for months. 2. During the reporting period, activists and local and international organizations were not allowed to visit any detention center or prison. Houthis deny having special prisons or detention centers. 3. Conditions in centers are harsh and inhumane. 82% of detention centers lack sanitation, 89% lack good ventilation, 49% do not have lighting at all, 51% store heavy weapons and are at risk of air strikes, and 20% use detainees as human shields. 4. According to witnesses and families of detainees, Zain AlAbiden mosque was turned into a secret prison where no one is allowed to visit. The prison also became known as the prison of wraths. 5. None of the detainees have been sent to trial, and no one has been convicted or ruled innocent. Torture Through personal interviews, detainees have revealed that they were subjected to illegal torture, which included severe beatings, electric shock, cigarettes burned on skin, and psychological torture. 1. A total of 1,077 cases have been documented. Accusations against detainees mostly related to supporting Operation Decisive Storm and the Arab Coalition, or cooperating with Hadi and legitimate forces. 2. According to family members, those who were released had to sign papers that put their lives and the lives of their families at risk if they were to speak about their torture, investigation process, where they were abducted, or who abducted them, or if they spoke to media or human rights groups. 3. Eight were killed after being tortured by Houthis and their followers: February 11, 2015: Saleh Awad AlBashri (35) died after being kidnapped along with three others in Sana a while participating in a peaceful walk. Saleh died days after he was detained. His body appeared to have been through harsh physical torture.
January 29, 2016: The family of Muneef AlJabri (27) received their son s body. He died in a Houthi mosque. According to family member: He died after being tortured in a prison in Karama, Sana a. His body had obvious signs of torture. When family received his body, they were threatened not to bring the case through media or human rights organizations. November 20, 2015: Ali Awdah (33) was detained and tortured, and died after he returned from Hajj and was accused of receiving monetary compensation from the Kingdom in return for information about Houthis and Saleh. A family member said: We were not allowed to visit him during the last 20 days, when he was being tortured physically and emotionally. They refused to give us his body until after signing written promise to drop case and not to bring it in the media. February 10, 2016: Sohaib Thobhani s (32) body was found dumped on the street in Hoban after he had disappeared for two days. His left arm was cut off. March 2, 2016: Solaiman Humood disappeared for three months before he was declared dead. October 1, 2016: Saud Algahda (29) was killed and his body was given to his mother, who testified that he was asked to blow up a car in Sheikh Haddan Abkar (Pro Houthi leader), but refused. Use of landmines July November 2015 Despite the 1998 United Nations convention that prohibits the use of mines and antipersonnel mines under any circumstances, Houthis have been using antipersonnel and anti-tank mines manufactured in Eastern European and Soviet Union countries that date back to the 1980s. Landmines and explosive devices were planted in public roads and city entrances. No serious efforts have been made to remove these landmines, except the UAE, which established several teams to deal with the issue in Aden and some neighboring provinces. 1. Houthi-Saleh Militia converted anti-tank mines into anti-personnel mines because they are more powerful and lethal. 2. During the reporting period, at least 100 persons were killed by mines and 150 injured in Aden, Abeen, Mareb, Lahj, and Dhale.
3. The number of landmines of different kinds removed in five provinces (above) by the national army and local resistance with help from Arab Coalition Forces exceeded 5,000. 4. Between July-August 2015, 39 deaths were due to landmines planted by Houthi-Saleh forces in Aden, and 120 were injured, including 12 children and 13 women. 5. On August 9, 2015, an explosion of one landmine in the residential city of Enma killed three brothers, aged 21, 19, and 17 Siege of Taiz As confirmed by local residents and eyewitnesses, Houthi-Saleh militias have closed all entrances to the city and planted landmines across some entry points. According to accounts and testimonies from eyewitnesses, as documented by the reporting and monitoring team, gunmen affiliated with Houthi-Saleh militias positioned in checkpoints near the entry points of the city have prevented the entry of trucks loaded with food, vegetables and fruits, as well as drinking water and cooking gas. Forms of siege included: The water in the City of Taiz has stopped pumping to houses and residential areas. The entry of water trucks from outside the city was stopped. Nine cases of killings have been documented, including four women. There were 24 injuries during attempts to smuggle cooking gas to the city of Taiz. Houthi-Saleh militia have seized all humanitarian aid materials allocated by the United Nations and aid agencies at the entry points of the city of Taiz The siege has resulted in the closure and dysfunction of all but three of the 37 hospitals in the city of Taiz. The three that remain open are only partially operating. 65 dispensaries and medical centers and 43 pharmacies have been closed down. Several deaths were reported due to the lack of medical oxygen in hospitals and the lack of medicine for chronic diseases The province of Taiz has seen continual violent clashes since the end of March 2015. In these confrontations, Houthi-Saleh militias use a number of different heavy weapons in targeting populated areas. As a result, more than 1,529 people have been killed, of whom 102 were women and 221 were children.