Yemeni Military Bombing Cities and Villages Again
While this photo may look like the dozens of others I’ve published throught the years, it is indeed current and new destruction from the Yemeni government’s bombing campaign.
Sa'ada War August 2009
When there used to be laws of war, two of the most fundamental were that combatants should be dressed in a uniform and should not mingle with or shelter among civilian populations. The Houthi rebels (like many insurgent groups) comply with neither and increase the risks to civilians of military targeting. However, the state of Yemen as a state has the mandate to minimize civilian losses. Instead, as throughout the Sa’ada Wars, the Yemeni military is wantonly bombing residential areas and murdering its own citizens.
IRIN On 14 August, 15 civilians were killed in military airstrikes on Haidan Market in Saada, according to a local councilor from Amran who spoke to IRIN on condition of anonymity. On the same day he said five Yemeni soldiers were killed and dozens other injured in clashes in the Harf Sifyan District of neighbouring Amran Province, some 100km north of the capital Sanaa.
Another official, also declining to give his name, said 20 Houthi fighters were killed in army airstrikes on Haidan, Dhahian, Matrah and Al-Mahadhir districts.
Its time for everyone to re-read the International Crisis Group report on Sa’ada. There’s a good backgrounder on the recent developments in the conflict at the Khaleej Times:
Over the past few months, the Houthis have been able to take advantage of the many ceasefires to gain tactical advantages; this has generated deep concern in official circles in Yemen and the region.
The Houthi forces have expanded their influence and control into new areas, particularly on the Yemeni-Saudi border in the areas of Baqa’, Al Hassama, and Al Mashnaq. With the Houthis controlling more areas close to the Saudi border, the conflict became an issue of regional concern, which led to increasing Saudi pressure on the Yemeni government to deal with situation.
Second, over the past week, Al Houthi militia has begun actively controlling access to the western part of the country and closed strategic roads used as supply lines for the Yemeni Army. Closing roads, the rebels aim not only to disable supply and logistics but also to isolate and demoralise the Yemeni armed forces forcing them to surrender. Many army camps and military posts have been placed under siege and come under fire from the rebel forces.
The situation became more complicated after an increasing number of tribes started to form militias in the last few weeks.
Both the Yemeni army and Houthis have used tribal forces in the conflict. But of late, a larger number of tribes, who initially had taken a neutral stance in the conflict, have become involved. In provinces such Al Jawf, it was the Islah Party that called on the tribes last month to establish armed militias to fight the Houthi forces in order to counter their advance in the area.
There are 120,000 estimated to be displaced, not surprisingly when over 100,000 people were out of their homes prior to this outbreak. The figure largely represents women and children.
