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Incident on 17 September 2015 [+] Print this page

Location: a house in Al-Felaihi neighborhood, Amanat Al Asimah [+]

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 a house in Al-Felaihi neighborhood, Amanat Al Asimah, 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. [...] 13 civilians, including a woman and nine children were killed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition airstrike on 17 September 2015 that targeted a house in Al-Felaihi neighborhood in the middle of Old Sana’a, which is a historic city with a distinctive Architectural character. Its construction dates back to about 700 years and it is located in the middle of the capital Sana’a. According to Afrah Yahya, 36 years old, who is the sister of one of the victims, the bombing occurred about 11:00 p.m. at night while she and some members of her family were still awake and felt furniture scattering around them by the impact of the explosion. Mwatana interviewed Afrah in Old Sana’a, and she said: “I have never seen in my life such darkness as that night, it was like we were inside a grave. When we tried to rescue ourselves, I fell on the floor more than once, I was walking but I don’t know where to; I would go out into the street and go back to search for my children and the children of my brother and my elderly father. I don’t know for how long did this situation go on for but it was so scary to an unimaginable point. My father was wounded in his feet and was unable to get out, so I faced difficulty getting my family out of the house. The people were scared, some people came to help us, but the rest fled fearing that another bomb may strike.” Afrah continues: “All members of Al-Aini family who lived in the house next to us died. Ten of them died, except one person with a disability was not harmed. They killed the Family of Al- Aini who’s a poor person and was supporting his family by selling vegetables. He did not know anything about politics and has nothing to do with the Houthis. Two of my brothers died in the bombing, one of them has two children, and did not even have a government job or any source of income to support his family. Now who will take care and support his two children.” “We are a big family and we live in this small house. Now our house is destroyed and we are homeless and scattered living with relatives and neighbors. All our neighbors have been displaced and they moved away because of fear of bombing again. But we do not have anywhere else to go to, so we will return back to our house, although it is almost destroyed. The biggest fear remains that what remained from our neighbor Al-Aini house collapses on top of the roof of our house, then all of us will die."" [+]

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