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Incident on 3 February 2016 [+] Print this page

Location: Amran Cement Factory, Amran District, Amran Governorate [+]

Country: Yemen [+]

Violation types: Apparently Unlawful Airstrike [+]

Location


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This incident took place in Amran Cement Factory, Amran District, Amran Governorate, Yemen [+]

Description


According to Human Rights Watch: "Coalition aircraft struck the Amran Cement Factory in three separate attacks on July 12, 2015, February 3, 2016, and February 15, 2016.... On February 3, at about 5 p.m., another airstrike hit the main entrance of the factory, killing 15 civilians, including seven workers and two children, and wounding 49. Ramzi al-Faqih, 34, a general manager at the factory, told Human Rights Watch he was at the factory that afternoon completing some paperwork. At about 5 p.m., he was on the first floor consulting with three colleagues from the IT department. He said: Suddenly dust filled the room and bricks and glass flew through the air…. I didn’t move for about three minutes. Then I looked down at the laptop I was holding, there was a large metal fragment that had pierced a hole right through the middle of it. My colleagues and I were able to make it into the lobby where we hid under the stairs for a few minutes, then we starting looking for a way out but it was dark all around us. There was rubble everywhere and the building had collapsed around us. Al-Faqih and his colleagues finally made it out but he and 48 other workers were wounded in the process. Outside the factory he saw four cars and at least two shops, a pharmacy, a café and a call center near the gate of the factory on fire. Muhammad Ali Naif, 44, a local resident whose house is at the gate of the factory, said he was in his car at the time of the attack. He heard a bang and saw clouds of smoke. Believing that his family was in danger, he immediately drove in the direction of his home. As he arrived, he saw a neighbor assisting six of his family members out of his damaged home. He rushed past them to look for his remaining son, Abdullah, 18, and his nephews Nawaf, 13, and Abdulrahim, 23, inside. He eventually found his son who was badly wounded, as well as Abdulrahim, who was dead, next to the neighboring call center. He said: Later, when we put out the fire we found the body of Nawaf under one of the burned cars. My son Abdullah died in the hospital later that day, and my father, Ali, died from his injuries two days later. Our medical bills are over 2.5 million YER [US$11,600] and because we cannot afford to pay, the hospital has forced us to pawn off my car and the car of two of my relatives." [+]

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
11 July 2016 Human Rights Watch Bombing Businesses: Saudi Coalition Airstrikes on Yemen’s Civilian Economic Structures 22 November 2019