A/HRC/42/CRP.1
deaths had been registered in health facilities in Aden. The total number of casualties is
expected to have been much higher. Approximately 200 children were injured or killed in
Aden in this period.100
128. The fighting left Aden in a dire humanitarian situation. According to the 2016
United Nations Yemen Humanitarian Needs Overview, the whole of the Aden population
was left in need of some type of humanitarian assistance in the aftermath of the fighting. 101
The water supply was badly damaged. Already stressed hospitals across the city received
large numbers of casualties. In the immediate aftermath, WFP was able to enter the city
with food but it struggled to move within the city to reach people in need. The massive fire
that broke out at the Aden oil refinery during the fighting caused a significant negative
environmental impact. Poor sanitation and lack of waste collection became a serious
public-health risk. Mortality and morbidity rose sharply due to dwindling levels of water,
food and medical supplies, and Aden became the governorate worst affected by dengue and
other viral haemorrhagic fevers. According to UNICEF, acute malnutrition rates rose in
Aden compared to 2014.102 The security vacuum that ensued following the fighting,
together with the landmines that were left throughout the city and nearby areas, impeded
the work of humanitarian actors.
129. The following are a sample of incidents considered indicative of the main patterns of
violations that the Group of Experts investigated. This sample is by no means considered
comprehensive or exhaustive in relation to the seriousness and widespread nature of the
violations that occurred during this period.
(a) Shelling by Houthi-Saleh fighters
“There must have been 50 families, over 500 people, all packed into the port
area and waiting to get to al-Bureiqa to escape the fighting. Then I saw four
bombs hit us, we were flung into the water and we were swimming in blood
and body parts. I saw eight or nine obviously dead bodies and many more
around the port as they were being collected. I saw a baby drown. I saw one
family cut to pieces. I saw one family of three young daughters, and their
mother killed. I knew the father, one month later he committed suicide.”
Victim of the al-Towaihi attack103
130. Houthi-Saleh fighters used explosive weapons with wide area effects to attack areas
densely populated with civilians and civilian objects, causing a large number of victims and
extensive suffering and destruction. These attacks hit residences, buildings, boats, markets,
shops, and hotels. In most of the investigated cases, no apparent military objective could be
identified in proximity of the locations impacted. In some cases the presence of a few
members of the Resistance was reported within a large crowd composed of displaced
civilians. The continuous shelling on civilian neighbourhoods caused extensive destruction,
terrorized civilians, and affected every aspect of the civilian life, including the functioning
of schools and hospitals. Most documented attacks were carried out in broad daylight, into
areas that were clearly and visibly heavily populated. The following are a sample of
incidents that illustrate the Group’s findings.
Killing of Civilians at al-Towaihi port
131. On 6 May 2015, at around 10:00 hrs, Houthi-Saleh fighters carried out shelling
attacks on the al-Towaihi port in Aden, killing over 40 civilians and injuring over 60. 104 On
100 OCHA,
Humanitarian Needs Overview, 2016, Page 28.
OCHA, Humanitarian Needs Overview, 2016, Page 51.
102 UNICEF, Annual Report on Yemen, 2015.
103 Confidential Sources on File.
104 Centre for Public Opinion Studies and Social Research, “Report on the Human Rights Violations
in the South Committed by Houthi Militias and Forces of the Yemeni Army Loyal to the Former
President Ali Abdullah Saleh”, August 2015. Amnesty International, “Yemen: Eyewitness accounts
indicate Houthis attacked civilians and medical workers in Aden”, 13 May 2015, available at:
101
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