A/HRC/42/CRP.1 180. The al-Mohsinyya School was established in 1931 and was commonly referred to as “the first school in the Arab Peninsula”. Al-Mohsinyya had been considered as one of the most prestigious schools in Yemen and was the first school of the region to be accredited in Egypt. Its building had been constructed in the 1920s, was made of clay, and it was recognized as an important monument in Lahij province. At the time the war started the building was no longer being used as a school but hosted the administration of the educational ministry of the directorate of Tuban. The building was in a poor shape due to lack of maintenance and required renovation.211 It was subsequently vacated. In April 2015, Houthi-Saleh fighters occupied the school’s premises and used it as one of their military bases.212 In June, the coalition forces carried out an airstrike hitting the school and a Houthi-Saleh vehicle located nearby.213 The building collapsed following the strike.214 Sultan’s Palace, Dar al-Hajar, al-Hawtah, Lahij province 181. The Sultan’s Palace in Dar al-Hajar, built by Sultan Abdul Karim Bin Fadhl alAbdeli in the old Indian style around 1926, is one of the main cultural monuments of Lahij governorate. At the outset of the 2015 offensive, Resistance fighters occupied the palace. After their arrival in Lahij at the end of March 2015, Houthi-Saleh fighters shelled the palace using a tank. They subsequently occupied the palace, established a military position in its premises, and deployed snipers.215 The hitting of the palace and the fighting in and around its premises caused damage to the building. No reconstruction has occurred and the damage can be observed on recent photographs of the palace. 216 Nasser College for Agricultural Sciences, al-Hawtah, Lahij province 182. The Nasser College for Agricultural Sciences was built in the 1940s. In 1976 Sultan Ali Abdel Karim had donated the building to the University of Aden to be used as a centre for agricultural research and knowledge. At the start of the 2015 offensive, Southern Resistance fighters gained control of the area around the college. When Houthi-Saleh fighters arrived in al-Hawtah, at the end of March 2015, they shelled the building and occupied it, prompting Southern Resistance forces to flee. 217 Houthi-Saleh fighters used the building as a military position, established firing positions where they based their rocket launcher, and stored their weapons in its premises.218 The college was damaged by shrapnel and bullet marks fired by Houthi-Saleh fighters. 219 After renovation, the building is currently operational as the faculty of agricultural research of the University of Aden. 220 Violations 183. Education facilities and cultural objects are – as civilian objects – protected from attack. However, as soon as they are used for military purposes, they lose this protection and may become legitimate military objectives. Nevertheless, parties to the conflict must take all feasible precautions to protect civilian objects under their control against the effects of attacks.221 In particular, they must avoid locating military objectives within or near densely populated areas.222 The use of such objects for military purposes may violate this rule, as well as the specific protection to which cultural objects are entitled under international law. 211 Confidential Sources on File. Confidential Sources on File. 213 Confidential Sources on File. 214 Confidential Sources on File. 215 Confidential Sources on File. 216 Confidential Sources on File. 217 Confidential Sources on File. 218 Confidential Sources on File. 219 Confidential Sources on File. 220 Confidential Sources on File. 221 See ICRC Study on customary IHL, rule 22. 222 See ICRC Study on customary IHL, rule 23; see also Art. 13(1) Additional Protocol II. 212 43