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Incident on 4 June 2015 [+] Print this page

Location: car by the petrol station near the political security building on the Gharaz Road, Sa'dah Governorate [+]

Country: Yemen [+]

Violation types: Violation of International Law [+]

Location


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This incident took place in car by the petrol station near the political security building on the Gharaz Road, Sa'dah Governorate, Yemen [+]

Description


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. [...] Some victims were killed as they were trying to flee to safety. Abdullah al-Lamood Abdullah told Amnesty International that six members of his family were killed when the car they were travelling in was struck by coalition forces around 4 June in the middle of the day. The car was by the petrol station near the political security building on the Gharaz Road, next to the specialized hospital, when a first airstrike hit the station. A second airstrike subsequently hit the car, inside which were Hassan Hussein al-Lamood, 31, his mother Aziza, 50, his wife and their four young children. All were killed except Hussein’s youngest child, a 13-day-old boy. Abdullah told researchers that later that evening he heard on television that coalition forces announced the killing of a Huthi leader. He believed from the description that they were referring to his brother Hassan. However, he maintained that his brother Hassan was neither a leader nor a member of the Huthis. “He was just an ordinary family man who worked in a money change office. They were in the Muwasalat area and when the petrol station there was bombed they escaped and headed to Gharaz, to my sister. They were on the way there when their car was bombed”. It is not clear if the target of the strike was the vehicle in which the al-Lamood family was travelling, the petrol station, the political security building or another target nearby. The vehicle and the civilians in it should not have been targeted. The petrol station also is a civilian object and should not have been directly attacked as such. As part of their obligation to take necessary precautions, those planning an attack on a legitimate target in the immediate vicinity should have been aware of and taken into consideration the danger of striking a petrol station, which was likely to cause a secondary explosion and fire thereby putting civilians in the area at risk. They would have had an obligation to consider other less risky targets.” [+]

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
07 October 2015 Amnesty International BOMBS FALL FROM THE SKY DAY AND NIGHT': CIVILIANS UNDER FIRE IN NORTHERN YEMEN 21 January 2021