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Incident on 11 May 2015 [+] Print this page

Location: Al-Sunnah mosque neighborhood, Ta'izz Governorate [+]

Country: Yemen [+]

Violation types: Aerial attack may tantamount to war crimes in accordance with the International Humanitarian Law [+]

Location


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This incident took place in Al-Sunnah mosque neighborhood, Ta'izz Governorate, Yemen [+]

Description


According to Mwatana for Human Rights: "Despite the statements issued by the Spokesman of the Arab Allied Forces –Brigadier General Ahmed Aseeri- that all precautionary measures were taken to avoid civilian casualties and to ensure the safety and security of all Yemenis, a sizable number of the coalition’ aerial attacks did target civilian areas and resulted in killing and injury of civilian, damage of homes, civil institutions and infrastructures. These violations may tantamount to war crimes in accordance with the International Humanitarian Law. [...] On May 11, 2015 at six in the morning an airstrike killed five civilians, including two children and a woman, and wounded seven others including two women and a child when a fighter jet of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition bombed a mosque in Al-Sunnah Mosque Neighborhood west of the city of Ta’iz in an area called Almuroor. The airstrike took place after fighter jets had bombed Al-Dahi Valley Neighborhood, which is about 250 meters away from Al-Sunnah Mosque neighborhood. Jihad Al-Yousifi, an eye witness, 21 years old, working as a small bus driver told Mwatana that a violent explosion at 6:00 am woke him up from his sleep and he rushed to the scene before a second bomb fell next to the mosque. “I saw my bus and it had turned into metal parts because of the explosion, and I saw a woman with her head separated from her body and her three children were torn into pieces.” Al-Yousifi continued “Most of the neighborhood folks left the neighborhood, some to the villages, and some went to live at the homes of their relatives. I also left after the bus that is my only source of income was completely destroyed. Fear is what made people leave their homes and livelihoods in order to feel safe again. Our neighborhood is close to Almuroor area and the nearest military site to us is the Criminal Investigation Department which is only five minutes away by foot. Yes, there are Houthis in Technical Institute building, which is not far from our house, but the air strike was in a place where only civilians lived. The mosque was damaged because of strike, and people with no links to armed groups were killed and injured.” In an interview with Saddam Al-Shamiri (25 years old), the son of one of the victims, he reported to Mwatana that he was asleep in his house and heard a sound of a nearby powerful explosion and after he woke up he discovered that the Coalition forces hit AlSunnah mosque destroying a large part of it. Al-Shamiri added “My father and I were injured as a result of the explosion next to the Al-Sunnah Mosque. Our feelings were indescribable because of the horror and fear that was felt by all the residents of the neighborhood. We are now displaced from our homes, and most of the residents are also displaced in other areas.”" [+]

Perpetrator units

Name Other Names Classification
Operation Restoring Hope [+] Arab Coalition
Arab Coalition Forces
Arab Coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen
Gulf Arab coalition
Hope Restoration Operation
Joint Forces
Operation Renewal of Hope
Operation Storm of Resolve
Saudi-led Arab Coalition
Saudi-led Coalition
coalition forces
operations Renewal of Hope
Air Force [+]
Army [+]
Joint Operation [+]
Military [+]
Navy [+]

Sources

List of all sources used to evidence the data in this record Click the "+" symbol next to every data point in the record to see the sources used for that data point.

Publication Date Publisher Publication Title Access Date Archive Link
15 December 2015 Mwatana for Human Rights Blind Air Strikes 09 October 2019