Rights Center Reports 18 Civilian Casualties in Houthi Attacks in Taiz

A human rights center has condemned ongoing violations by Houthi militia forces in Taiz governorate, which resulted in the deaths of two civilians, including a seven-year-old girl, and injuries to 16 others, including nine children and five women, over Wednesday and Thursday, October 21-22.

The Taiz Human Rights Center (THRC) stated that its field monitoring team documented the casualties resulting from artillery and rocket shelling, as well as sniper fire by Houthi forces. The center emphasized that these figures highlight the continued exposure of civilians, including children, women, and the elderly, to the dangers of shelling and direct targeting.

According to the THRC's statement, Amer Abdullah Saeed was killed by a Houthi sniper while in front of his home in the village of Kahlan, Al-Masrakh district, south of Taiz. The child, Maya Maher Mahmoud Hazaa (7 years old), died when her family's home in the same village was shelled.

The center documented 11 civilian injuries on Wednesday, including six children and four women, due to shelling and sniper fire in various parts of Taiz, including Saina and Bir Basha in Al-Mudhaffar district, and Al-Aqrosh and Kahlan village in Al-Masrakh district. Injuries ranged from shrapnel wounds to gunshot wounds, affecting children, an infant, and women, as residential homes and populated areas were targeted by shelling and sniper fire from Houthi positions.

On Thursday, the center recorded five additional civilian injuries, including three children and one woman, from shelling and sniper fire in the Old Airport area of Al-Mudhaffar district, Najd Mashra'a in Mashra'a and Handanan district, and the Anbian area in Al-Masrakh district. Among the injured were children Ramez Mohammed Saleh Ghalab (8 years old), who sustained a chest wound from shrapnel, and Saher Mohammed Saleh Ghalab (9 years old), who suffered an abdominal wound. Eighty-four-year-old Ahmed Ibrahim Abdullah Al-Raimi was also injured by shrapnel in the chest during shelling that targeted the Old Airport area.

Basma Yassin Ahmed Sultan (30 years old) sustained a gunshot wound to the right side of her back from sniper fire in the Najd Mashra'a area. Child Najma Walid Abdo Saif was shot by Houthi snipers positioned in the Anbian area of Al-Masrakh district.

The Taiz Human Rights Center asserted that the continued shelling of residential areas and the targeting of civilians with sniper fire, resulting in casualties among children, women, and the elderly, constitute a grave violation of the rules of international humanitarian law and necessitate accountability and an end to impunity.

The center urged the United Nations, the international community, and human rights and humanitarian organizations to take urgent action to halt the violations by the Houthi militia, ensure civilian protection, and hold those responsible for these crimes accountable. The center reaffirmed its commitment to continuing its field monitoring efforts to document violations, collect testimonies, and convey facts to relevant local and international bodies in defense of civilians' right to life, security, and protection.