Location: MSF Haydan Hospital, Sa'adah district, Sa'dah Governorate [+]
Country: Yemen [+]
Violation types: Violation of international humanitarian law [+]
This incident took place in MSF Haydan Hospital, Sa'adah district, Sa'dah Governorate, Yemen [+]
According to the Panel of Experts on Yemen: "137. The Panel documented that the coalition had conducted air strikes targeting civilians and civilian objects, in violation of international humanitarian law, including camps for internally displaced persons and refugees; civilian gatherings, including weddings; civilian vehicles, including buses; civilian residential areas; medical facilities; schools; mosques; markets, factories and food storage warehouses; and other essential civilian infrastructure, such as the airport in Sana ’a, the port in Hudaydah and domestic transit routes (see annexes 52, 54 and 61). 138. The Panel documented 119 coalition sorties relating to violations of international humanitarian law. Many attacks involved multiple air strikes on multiple civilian objects. Of the 119 sorties, the Panel identified 146 targeted objects(see annex 47). [...] The bombing of Haydan Hospital in Sada’a, was targeted and bombed by the Coalition airstrikes on the evening of Monday, 26 October 2015. The hospital was staffed by medical personnel from the international medical NGO, MSF, at the time. The Coalition undertook at least five strikes upon the hospital; patients and staff inside the hospital at the time of the attack. The Director of the Hospital, Doctor Ali Mughli, stated that several people had been injured during the strikes, “The air raids resulted in the destruction of the entire hospital with all that was inside - devices and medical supplies - and the moderate wounding of several people […].” Some reports suggested that the Coalition had preceded the strikes by two smaller missile taps on the roof as a warning mechanism, thus demonstrating its intent to target the hospital. An MSF spokesperson said that all staff had left the facility following the first strike. There were two patients in the in-patient department who also managed to escape after the first airstrike. Miriam Czech, MSF project coordinator in Sa’ada, stated, “I was not able to go inside as we believed there were remaining bombs that have not been exploded, but I can confirm that the facility is 99 percent destroyed, […] The emergency room was destroyed, the OPD, the IPD the lap and the maternity was destroyed. There was functioning OT but that was also destroyed.” The facility had been the only life-saving facility in the region and has a catchment area of 200,000 people. The hospital received around 150 emergency cases a week. Since May 2015, the hospital received around 3,400 injured, but fewer patients had been received recently, due to fears of airstrikes. The United Nations Secretary General, Mr Ban Ki-Moon, responded officially in a Written Statement about the attack, “[…] hospitals and medical personnel are explicitly protected under international humanitarian law. He further reminds all parties of the utmost necessity to respect their obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law to prevent attacks against civilians and civilian objects. The Secretary-General calls for a prompt, effective and impartial investigation in order to ensure accountability. […]”" [+]
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 |
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26 January 2016 | United Nations | Letter dated 22 January 2016 from the Panel of Experts on Yemen established pursuant to Security Council resolution 2140 (2014) addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/2018/192) | 08 October 2019 |