A/HRC/42/CRP.1 562. Al-Hudaydah is home to significant places and items that have cultural value to Yemen and the world. In particular, the old city of Zabid, the capital of Yemen from the 13th to the 15th century, played an important role in the Arab and Muslim world for many centuries because of its Islamic university. Zabid, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has been on the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger since 2000.859 According to UNESCO, a particular emerging issue is that high prices and lack of traditional building materials has resulted in the use of unsuitable building materials in Zabid. The majority of the traditional buildings in the Old Town of Zabid need urgent interventions for maintenance, restoration and rehabilitation,860 a situation that has been worsened by the conflict. The Group of Experts monitored the situation of Zabid during the conflict. In spite of some preliminary information on damage to structures within the old town in Zabid, no conclusive evidence emerged of attacks against such structures as a direct result of the fighting. 563. The conflict has created the conditions for the mismanagement of cultural property in Zabid. The Group of Experts received reports that a collection of more than 1,000 manuscripts has been removed from the Zabid museum. The manuscripts were, at the time of writing, no longer kept within the museum, causing serious concerns over their protection and maintenance.861 Destruction of the al-Fazah Mosque862 564. According to UNESCO863 the original structure of the al-Fazah Mosque dated from the 7th century and continued to be in use by the local communities, through successive repairs, until the present day. It was dedicated to the scholar Ahmed al-Faz and was a Sufi pilgrimage site. 565. Satellite imagery collected on 6 May 2018 shows some damage in the southern eastern corner of the structure. The image collected on 4 November 2018 shows that by then the mosque had already been fully destroyed. 566. From the second week of May 2018, the area where the mosque was located became an active battlefield, with the Giants Brigades and the Tihama Resistance moving towards it to dislodge the Houthis. They received UAE support864. By late May 2018, the UAEbacked forces had gained control of the area.865 After the attack on al-Hudaydah city started (mid-June), the Houthis attempted a counter attack in al-Fazah and significant fighting in the area resumed. Although there was some change in the frontlines, the coastal areas remained under the control of the Pro-Government forces. 866 567. According to the director of the General Authority for Antiquities and Museums, “Salafist groups” destroyed the mosque on 22 October 2018.867 The Group of Experts confirmed that the area was under the control of the Giants Brigades at the time of the destruction of the mosque.868 568. Although the exact circumstances of the destruction of the mosque and mausoleum remain to be verified, the Group of Experts found reasonable grounds to believe that the Giants Brigades destroyed the site as they were in full control of the area where the mosque was located. The National Commission of Inquiry, which visited the area and interviewed witnesses, reached the same conclusion. Several sources stated that it was “Salafist 859 UNESCO, State of Conservation City of Zabid. Available at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/soc/3801/. Ibid. 861 Confidential Sources on File. 862 Located at 14° 6'10.05"N, 43° 6'0.88"E. 863 UNESCO “UNESCO condemns the intentional destruction of a historical mosque and mausoleum in the Hodeida Governorate of Yemen”, 30 October 2018. Available at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/1895/. 864 Confidential Sources on File. 865 Confidential Sources on File. 866 Confidential Sources on File. 867 Confidential Sources on File. 868 Confidential Sources on File. 860 136