Location: a farm in Beni Ma’ath, a rural area north-west of Sa’da city, Sa'dah Governorate [+]
Country: Yemen [+]
Violation types: Violation of International Law [+]
This incident took place in a farm in Beni Ma’ath, a rural area north-west of Sa’da city, Sa'dah Governorate, Yemen [+]
According to Amnesty International: "VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW [...] Amnesty International investigated 13 airstrikes which took place during May, June and July in and around Sa’da governorate. These strikes killed some 100 civilians - including 59 children and 22 women – and injured a further 56, including 18 children. Amnesty International found that strikes which killed and injured civilians and destroyed civilian property and infrastructure were frequently disproportionate or indiscriminate and in some instances they appeared to have directly targeted civilians or civilian objects. Such attacks violate international humanitarian law and constitute war crimes. [...] The most used air-launched explosive weapons in the geographical area covered in this report are US-designed and US-produced general purpose bombs from the Mark/MK 80 series, remains of which have been found by Amnesty International researchers at the locations of Saudi Arabia-led coalition airstrikes, notably: MK 82 (also known as BLU-111/B) 500 lbs (about 225 kg), containing some 192 lbs (about 87 kg) of Tritonal High Explosive. MK 83 (also known as BLU-110B/B) 1,000 lbs (about 453 kg) containing some 445 lbs (about 201 kg) of Tritonal High Explosive. MK 84 (also known as BLU-117) 2,000 lbs (about 907 kg) containing some 945 lbs (about 428 kg) of Tritonal High Explosive, the largest of the MK 80 series bombs. Two types of air-launched cluster bombs, internationally banned, have also been used, remains of which have been found by Amnesty International researchers at the locations of Saudi Arabia-led coalition airstrikes: US-produced CBU-87 bombs, each carrying 202 BLU-97 cluster submunitions. US-produced CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapon, each carrying 10 Blue-108 Sensor Fuzed submunitions canisters, each containing four submunitions. [...] On the morning of 8 June, a coalition forces airstrike on a farm in Beni Ma’ath, a rural area north-west of Sa’da city, killed three children and two pregnant women, as well as injuring two children and a 61-year-old man from the Halhal family. The strikes created a 10-meter wide crater, where Amnesty International found remnants of a US-designed Mark (MK) 80 series general purpose bomb. Survivors told Amnesty International that three consecutive airstrikes hit the farm, sending some of the 22 family members flying dozens of meters away. They said that they did not find the body of one of the children killed in the strike until four days later. Amnesty International found no evidence of military activities around the house, where the family’s meagre possessions were strewn dozens of meters from the ruins of the house. Ammar Mohammed Halhal, a 28-year-old farmer and father of four who survived the attack, but lost his pregnant wife and his daughter, told Amnesty International: “I don’t know why they bombed us. We are just simple farmers, we grow qat and vegetables. We are poor and spend our time working to eke a living for our families. They killed us for no reason. My wife, Nabila Ali and my little girl Fatime, my brothers Saqar and Abdullatif, who are both two years old, and my stepmother Safia Ghaleb were all killed. My wife and my stepmother were both in the last month of their pregnancies. My father and my little brother and sister, both three years old, were injured. The bombs were so powerful that we were blown far from the house. It took four days to find the body of little Abdullatif; he had been blown more than 50 meters away”. Ammar Mohammed Halhal’s father, Mohammed, who sustained multiple injuries to his back, neck and arms, said: “The explosion sent me flying all the way to that tree, some 30 meters from the house”.” [+]
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 [+] |
Publication Date | Publisher | Publication Title | Access Date | Archive Link |
---|---|---|---|---|
07 October 2015 | Amnesty International | BOMBS FALL FROM THE SKY DAY AND NIGHT': CIVILIANS UNDER FIRE IN NORTHERN YEMEN | 21 January 2021 |