A/HRC/36/33 A. Conduct of hostilities 20. Since OHCHR began civilian casualty monitoring in March 2015, the Office has verified at least 13,520 civilian casualties, with 4,980 killed and 8,540 injured, in more than 1,000 incidents through June 2017. 9 Data collected by OHCHR showed that the most conflict-affected governorates were Aden, Al-Hudaydah, Sana’a and Taizz. Given the strict verification methodology applied by OHCHR and access constraints, the actual total of casualties is likely to be higher. 21. Some of the incidents involving the various parties to the conflict may amount to violations of international humanitarian law. In many cases, information obtained by OHCHR suggested that civilians might have been directly targeted, or that operations had been conducted heedless of their impact on civilians and without regard to the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack. In some cases, information suggested that no actions had been taken to mitigate the impact of operations on civilians. According to the Office’s findings, at no time were civilians given effective advance warning of the commencement of operations so as to have the opportunity to leave areas of operations safely, and their access to life-saving or life-sustaining humanitarian assistance was severely limited or, in some instances, prevented. Shelling 22. Houthi/Saleh forces primarily relied on shelling in the conduct of their operations. Given their wide-area effects, the use of such weapons is frequently indiscriminate. OHCHR documented the recurrent use of shelling in densely populated civilian areas, such as residential neighbourhoods and markets, which had caused hundreds of civilian casualties and vast destruction to civilian objects.10 Since July 2016, OHCHR documented that shelling by Houthi/Saleh forces had killed at least 178 civilians and injured 420. The city of Taizz has been particularly affected. Shelling of Taizz 23. Throughout the conflict, the city of Taizz witnessed consistent shelling carried out by both sides of the conflict, intensifying at times, such as in January and May 2017. Due to denial of access to areas controlled by Houthi/Saleh forces in Taizz, OHCHR has rarely been able to verify incidents of shelling attributed to pro-government forces. The following are examples of shelling incidents verified by OHCHR that caused high numbers of civilian casualties.11 24. On 3 October 2016, in Beer Basha area, Al-Mudhaffar district, Taizz Governorate, a mortar shell struck a house, killing 10 civilians, including 6 children, and injuring 17 civilians, including 6 children and 3 women. The attack occurred in the vicinity of a public market at the busiest time of day. According to witnesses, the mortar shell was launched from an area under the control of Houthi/Saleh forces, while the market area was controlled by pro-Government forces. 25. On 18 January 2017, in Al-Noor area, Al-Mudhaffar district, Taizz Governorate, mortar shells fell among houses. About 15 minutes later, as residents gathered to assess the damage, another mortar shell struck the same area, killing nine civilians, including three children, and injuring nine civilians, including four children. Witnesses told OHCHR that the shells had been launched from an area controlled by Houthi/Saleh forces. 26. From 21 May to 6 June 2017, continuous shelling between forces in Taizz city impacted civilian residential areas, resulting in the killing of at least 26 civilians, including 4 children and 3 women, and injuring at least 61 civilians, including 29 children and 9 women. Based on witness testimonies and the locations of the impact, OHCHR attributed 9 10 11 6 See annex III. See A/HRC/30/31 and A/HRC/33/38, annex III. See annex I.