Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen

In March 2015, in a joint statement, the member-states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (with the exception of Oman) said they had decided to intervene against the Houthis at the request of Hadi's government.[115]

The coalition declared Yemeni airspace to be a restricted area, with King Salman declaring the RSAF to be in full control of the zone.[39] Saudi Arabia began airstrikes, reportedly relying on US intelligence reports and surveillance images to select and hit targets, including weapons, aircraft[116] on the ground and air defences.[117] Al Jazeera reported that Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a Houthi commander appointed in February as president of the Revolutionary Committee, was injured and three other Houthi commanders were killed by airstrikes in Sanaʽa.[118]

Strikes on 26 March also hit Al Anad Air Base, a former US special operations forces facility in Lahij Governorate seized by Houthis earlier in the week.[119] The targets reportedly included the Houthi-controlled missile base in Sanaʽa and its fuel depot.[2] Strikes overnight also targeted Houthis in Taiz and Sa'dah. Thousands demonstrated in Sanaʽa against the intervention, which ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh also condemned. In Taiz thousands came out supporting Hadi and Saudi Arabia.[120]

The scope of strikes expanded further on 27 March, with a radar installation in the Ma'rib Governorate and an airbase in the Abyan Governorate coming under air attack. The commander of the operation dismissed reports of civilian casualties, saying airstrikes were being carried out with precision.[121] Additional strikes early on the next day hit targets in Al Hudaydah, Sa'dah and the Sanaʽa area, as well as Ali Abdullah Saleh's main base. Rumours indicated Saleh fled to Sanhan, on the outskirts of the Houthi-controlled capital.[122] An Aden government official said Saudi strikes destroyed a long-range missile facility controlled by the Houthis.[123]

The Houthis claimed to have shot down a Sudanese Air Force plane over northern Sanaʽa and captured its pilot on 28 March. The Sudanese government denied that any of its four warplanes had come under fire or been shot down.[112] On the previous day, the Houthis claimed to have shot down a "hostile" Saudi drone in Sanaʽa.[124]

Airstrikes hit an arms depot, military airbase and special forces headquarters in Sanaʽa early on 29 March. A weapons depot outside Sanaʽa was destroyed, causing damage to an airport and planes on the ground. Sa'dah and Al Hudaydah were targeted as well. Brigadier General Ahmed Asiri, the coalition's spokesman, said Saudi artillery and Apache attack helicopters were mobilised to "deter" Houthi fighters massing on the border with Saudi Arabia.[125]

On 30 March, at least 40 people including children were killed and 200 were injured[126] by an airstrike that hit Al-Mazraq refugee camp near a military installation in northern district of Haradh, international organizations said. Airstrikes also hit areas near the presidential palace in Sanaʽa,[127] as well as Aden International Airport.[128]

Food storage of Yemen Economic Corporation in Hodeidah was destroyed by three coalition strikes on 31 March.[129] Airstrikes were not limited to the Yemeni mainland. Missiles struck homes on the island of Perim, according to residents who fled by boat to Djibouti.[130]

Destruction in Sana'a after air strike on 20 April 2015

Destruction in the residential neighborhoods near mountain Attan

Destroyed Shopping center

Dozens of casualties came from an explosion in a dairy and oil factory in Al Hudaydah, which was variously blamed on an airstrike or a rocket from a nearby military base on 1 April. Medical sources reported 25 deaths, while the Yemen Army said 37 were killed and 80 wounded.[131] Airstrikes also hit targets in Sa'dah on 1 April.[132]

Despite persistent airstrikes, Houthi and allied units continued to advance on central Aden, backed by tanks and heavy artillery.[133][134] Houthis seized the presidential palace on 2 April, but reportedly withdrew after overnight air raids early the next day.[135] Coalition planes also airdropped weapons and medical aid to pro-Hadi fighters in Aden.[136]

The International Committee of the Red Cross announced on 5 April that it had received permission from the coalition to fly medical supplies and aid workers into Sanaʽa and was awaiting permission to send a surgical team by boat to Aden. The coalition said it had set up a special body to coordinate aid deliveries to Yemen.[137]

On 6 April, airstrikes began before sunset and struck targets in western Sanaʽa, Sa'dah and the Ad Dali' Governorate, a supply route for Houthis in the Battle of Aden.[138]

Airstrikes on 7 April hit a Republican Guard base in the Ibb Governorate, injuring 25 troops. Yemeni sources claimed three children at a nearby school were killed by the attack,[139] while six were injured.[140]

The Parliament of Pakistan voted against military action on 10 April, despite a request from Saudi Arabia that it join the coalition.[141]

Airstrikes launched on 12 April, against the base of the 22nd Brigade of the Yemeni Republican Guard in the Taiz Governorate struck both the brigade and a nearby village inhabited by members of the Al-Akhdam minority community, killing eight civilians and injuring more than ten others.[142] On 17 April, both the GCC coalition's spokesman called by Saudi broadcaster Al-Ehkbariya TV and a commander of the pro-Hadi rebels on the ground said airstrikes had intensified, focusing on both Sanaʽa and Taiz.[143] One strike on the Republican Palace in Taiz killed 19 pro-Houthi gunmen.[144]

Ethnoreligious groups in 2002. Zaydi Shi'a followers make up between 35% and 42.1% of Muslims in Yemen.[145]

Egypt and Saudi Arabia committed warships to support coalition operations.[146] Somalia offered its airspace and territorial waters.[71] Four Egyptian Navy vessels steamed toward the Gulf of Aden after operations began.[119] Riyadh requested access to Somali airspace and waters to carry out operations.[147] On 27 March, the Egyptian military said a squadron of Egyptian and Saudi warships took up positions at the Bab al-Mandab strait.[121] The Saudi military threatened to destroy any ship attempting to make port.[148]

The Royal Saudi Navy evacuated diplomats and United Nations staff from Aden to Jeddah on 28 March.[149]

Witnesses told Reuters that Egyptian warships bombarded Houthi positions as they attempted to advance on Aden on 30 March.[150] Warships again fired on Houthi positions at Aden International Airport on or about 1 April.[132]

Djibouti foreign minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said the Houthis placed heavy weapons and fast attack boats on Perim and a smaller island in the Bab al-Mandab strait. He warned that "the prospect of a war in the strait of Bab al-Mandab is a real one" and said the weapons posed "a big danger" to his country, commercial shipping traffic, and military vessels. He called on the coalition to clear the islands, which he said included missiles and long-range cannons.[151]

On 4 April, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi called protecting Red Sea shipping and securing the Bab al-Mandab "a top priority for Egypt's national security".[152]

On 15 April, coalition spokesman Saudi Brigadier General Ahmed Al-Asiri, said that its warships were focusing on protecting shipping routes and screening ships heading to port for shipments intended for the Houthis.[153]

The US Navy provided support to the naval blockade, halting and searching vessels suspected of carrying Iranian arms to the Houthis.[154] On 21 April, the United States announced it was deploying warships to Yemeni waters to monitor Iranian ships.[155] The US in particular noted a convoy of Iranian vessels, which US authorities said could potentially be carrying weapons to Houthi fighters in contravention of UN sanctions.[156] The US reported that the Iranian convoy reversed course on 23 April.[157]

Sudan said it was stationing ground troops in Saudi Arabia.[158] The Special Forces of the Bahrain Defence Force, Taskforce 11, were also deployed to Yemen.[159]

Between 31 March and April, Saudi and Houthi forces reportedly traded artillery and rocket fire across the border between SA and Yemen.[128][160] A Saudi border guard was killed on 2 April, the campaign's first confirmed coalition casualty.[161] Followed by another two soldiers killed the next day.[162] An Egyptian truck driver was killed by Houthi shelling.[163]

SA reportedly began removing sections of the Saudi–Yemen barrier fence along its border with the Sa'dah and Hajjah governorates on 3 April. The purpose of the removal was not immediately clear.[164]

On 12 April, members of the Takhya tribe launched an attack on a Saudi base after several of its members died in an airstrike. Weapons and ammunition were taken.[165][166][167]

On 19 April, as Houthi leader Abdul-Malek El-Houthi accused SA of planning to invade Yemen,[168] Asiri claimed that coalition forces had information regarding a planned Houthi incursion into SA.[169] A Saudi border guard died on 19 April and two others were injured from gunfire and mortar shelling across the border.[170]

At the operation's announcement, coalition leadership stressed that their campaign would attempt a political solution and that they would continue the air and naval blockade.[184] Airstrikes resumed almost immediately following the coalition's announcement of the end of Operation Decisive Storm.[185]

On 22 April airstrikes continued in Taiz, where an army base was hit shortly after Houthi fighters took it over,[186] and Aden, where an airstrike targeted Houthi tanks moving into a contested district,[187] among other locations, such as Al Hudaydah and Ibb.[188] The Houthis continued to fight for territory,[186] with a Houthi spokesman saying the group would be prepared for peace talks on the condition of "a complete halt of attacks". The previous round of UN-sponsored talks collapsed after Houthi rebels attacked Hadi's residence in Sanaʽa.[189]

By 26 April, coalition forces were striking what they described as Houthi military targets in Sanaʽa and Aden and in other locations, notably in Sa'ada province near the Saudi border, nearly every night.[190][191] On 26 April, after midnight, airstrikes struck Houthi and pro-Saleh positions and targets in and around Sanaʽa, Aden, and the Ma'rib and Ad Dali' governorates, backing up anti-Houthi fighters in the latter three locations, with more than 90 rebels reportedly killed.[192] Coalition warships shelled fighters near Aden's commercial port. Saudi warplanes also targeted Houthis in the Sa'dah Governorate, while Saudi artillery fired on targets in the Hajjah Governorate along the border.[193] The Saudi National Guard was deployed on the border.[194]

On 28 April, Sanaʽa International Airport was bombed[195] by Saudi F-15 fighters to prevent an Iranian plane[196] belonging to Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) from landing, while it was approaching to land. The fighters had warned the plane to turn back, in an unsuccessful attempt to thwart its landing, but the Iranian pilot ignored the "illegal warnings", saying that, on the basis of international law, his plane did not need further permission to land.[197]

On the night of 6 May 2015, the Saudi-led coalition carried out 130 airstrikes in Yemen in a 24-hour period. At first, coalition spokesperson Ahmed Asiri admitted that schools and hospitals were targeted but claimed that these were used as weapon storage sites. Asiri later claimed that his words had been mistranslated. The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Yemen Johannes Van Der Klaauw said that these bombings constituted a war crime. "The indiscriminate bombing of populated areas, with or without prior warning, is a contravention international humanitarian law," he said. He continued to say that he was particularly concerned about airstrikes on Saada "where scores of civilians were reportedly killed and thousands were forced to flee their homes after the coalition declared the entire governate a military target".[198]

Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir announced a five-day ceasefire in Yemen, 8 May 2015

The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the Saudi chargé d'affaires, and the Iranian Parliament and the Iranian Red Crescent Society blasted Saudi Arabia for blocking Iranian humanitarian aid.[199][200]

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) "strongly urged" the coalition to stop targeting airports and seaports so that aid could reach all Yemenis.[201][202]

ICRC and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, said that they were extremely concerned about damage to the airports at Sanaa and to the port city of Hodeidah.[201]

Overnight on 29 and 30 April, SA was reported to have airdropped arms to anti-Houthi fighters in Taiz.[203]

On 30 April airstrikes hit five provinces.[203] New airstrikes hit SIA, completely halting aid deliveries.[204]

An airstrike in Sanaʽa,
11 May 2015

On 6 May coalition airstrikes targeted the Police Training Center in the Dhamar Governorate, damaging nearby houses[205] meanwhile the civil aviation authority announced it would re-open the airport to receive aid.[206]

Coalition airstrikes targeted the houses of Saleh in Sanaʽa in the early hours of 10 May, eyewitnesses said. Khabar, a Yemeni news agency allied with Saleh said that the former president and his family were unharmed.[207]

The Moroccan government said on 10 May that one of its General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft taking part in the air campaign went missing in action over Yemen, along with its pilot.[208] The Houthis claimed responsibility, with Yemeni state TV broadcasting a report on the jet being downed by tribal militias over the Sa'dah Governorate and showing images of the wreckage.[209]

On 18 May Saudi-led airstrikes reportedly resumed on Houthi positions after a humanitarian ceasefire expired late on Sunday. Three coalition airstrikes hit Sa'ada on Monday. Yemen's exiled Foreign Minister Riyadh Yassin blamed the rebel group for the renewal of hostilities. Al-Arabiya said Saudi forces shelled Houthi outposts along Yemen's northern border after the fighters fired mortars at a Saudi army post in Najran province.[210]

On 23 May OCHA reported that airstrikes continued in the northern governorates of Sa'ada (Baqim, Haydan, Saqayn and As Safra) and Hajjah (Abs, Hayran, Haradh, Huth, Kuhlan Affar and Sahar districts). The road connecting Haradh and Huth districts was reportedly hit. Airstrikes were also reported in Al Jawf Governorate (Bart Al Anan district).[211]

On 27 May airstrikes hit a police station in the capital, Sanaʽa, killing 45 officers.[212] The Houthi-controlled Ministry of Health announced that in total, 96 people were killed.

On 3 June the residence of a Houthi leader in Ibb province was hit by an airstrike, according to eyewitnesses.[213]

Destruction in the south of Sana'a (12 June 2015)

Destroyed house

Destroyed car

On 12 June Saudi jets bombed the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Sanaʽa Old City, killing at least six people and destroying some of the ancient buildings. UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova said in a statement that she is "profoundly distressed by the loss of human lives as well as by damage inflicted on one of the world's oldest jewels of Islamic urban landscape". Locals also condemned the action.[214]

On 23 September 2015, the Saudi-led coalition destroyed a ceramics factory in the town of Matnah. One civilian was killed and others were wounded. According to the BBC, the bomb is believed to have been produced in the United Kingdom by GEC-Marconi Dynamics.[215] The factory's owner Ghalib al-Sawary told the BBC: "We built it over 20 years but to destroy it took only twenty minutes."[216] Campaigners say this attack was a violation of the laws of war.

On 26 October 2015 Médecins Sans Frontières reported that a coalition airstrike had completely destroyed a hospital they ran in Saada province's Haydan governorate, including the operating room. When the first strike hit an unused part of the hospital the facility was completely evacuated, so there were no direct casualties. A spokesman for the coalition forces, Brig-Gen Ahmed al-Asiri, denied responsibility for the attack.[217] "With the hospital destroyed, at least 200,000 people now have no access to lifesaving medical care," MSF said. "This attack is another illustration of a complete disregard for civilians in Yemen, where bombings have become a daily routine," said Hassan Boucenine, MSF head of mission in Yemen. The GPS coordinates of the only hospital in the Haydan district were regularly shared with the Saudi-led coalition, and the roof of the facility was clearly identified with the MSF logo, he said.[218] UNICEF said the hospital in Saada was the 39th health center hit in Yemen since March, when the violence escalated. "More children in Yemen may well die from a lack of medicines and healthcare than from bullets and bombs," its executive director Anthony Lake said in a statement. He added that critical shortages of fuel, medication, electricity and water could mean many more will close. Amnesty International said the strike may amount to a war crime and called for an independent investigation.[219][220]

In February 2016, the Saudis bombed the ancient citadel of Kawkaban, killing seven civilians.[221]

On 8 October 2016, Saudi-led airstrikes targeted a hall in Sanaʽa where a funeral was taking place. At least 140 people were killed and about 600 were wounded. According to The Independent, one rescuer said: "The place has been turned into a lake of blood."[80] After initially denying it was behind the attack, the Coalition's Joint Incidents Assessment Team admitted that it had bombed the hall but claimed that this attack had been a mistake caused by bad information.[222] After this attack, US national security spokesperson said that the US government was "deeply disturbed" by the bombing and added that US support for the Saudi-led coalition was "not a blank cheque". He added "we have initiated an immediate review of our already significantly reduced support to the Saudi-led Coalition."[80] The United Nations humanitarian co-ordinator in Yemen Jamie McGoldrick said he was "shocked and outraged" by the "horrific" bombing. "This violence against civilians in Yemen must stop," he said.[80]

On the night of 15 February 2017, the Saudi-led coalition bombed a funeral reception near Sanaa. Initial reports suggest the bombing killed nine women and one child with ten more women reported wounded. "People heard the sound of planes and started running from the house but then the bombs hit the house directly. The roof collapsed and there was blood was everywhere," a resident of the village told a Reuters news agency cameraman.[223]

An explosion in a warehouse on Sunday 7 April 2019, in Sanaa, have killed at least 11 civilians, including school children and left more than 39 people wounded. The Associated Press news agency said 13 killed, including 7 children and more than 100 were wounded. According to Al Jazeera and Houthi officials, the civilians were killed in a Saudi-led coalition airstrike.[224] The Saudi-led coalition denied any airstrikes took place that day on Sanaa. The state-run news agency in Aden, aligned with the internationally recognized government, said the rebels had stored weapons at the warehouse. According to The Washington Post, "some families and residents of the district of Sawan said the explosion occurred after a fire erupted inside the warehouse. They said a fire sent columns of white smoke rising into the air, followed by the explosion." Their accounts were confirmed by several videos filmed by bystanders.[225][226]

On 3 April, CNN cited an unnamed Saudi source who claimed that Saudi special forces were on the ground in and around Aden, "coordinating and guiding" the resistance.[227] The Saudi government officially declined to comment on whether it had special forces, with Saudi Ambassador to the United States Adel al-Jubeir saying on 2 April that Saudi Arabia had no "formal" troops in Aden.[164]

The Battle of Aden came to an end with pro-Hadi forces again seized control of Aden port and moving into the city's commercial center.[228][229] On 22 July, pro-Hadi forces had retaken full control of Aden, and the Aden Airport was reopened. In late July, an offensive launched by pro-Hadi forces drove Houthi forces out of the towns neighboring Aden.[2]

On 4 September a Houthi OTR-21 Tochka missile hit an ammunition dump at a military base in Safer in Ma'rib Governorate killing 52 UAE, 10 Saudi and 5 Bahraini soldiers. The Safer base was being built up by coalition forces for a push against Sanaa.[230][231][232] "It was the deadliest single attack on coalition soldiers since the start of its operation against Houthi rebels in March" Asseri said.[233] The attacked was the highest casualty loss in the history of the UAE military.[234] Qatar deployed 1000 troops to Yemen after the incident.[235]

By 8 September it was reported that the Saudi-led forces deployed in Yemen exceeded 10,000 troops and included 30 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters.[236]

On 14 December media reported a Houthi & Saleh Forces missile attack at a Saudi military camp south-west of the besieged city of Taiz,[237][238] while sources confirmed the killings of over 150 coalition soldiers including 23 Saudi troops, 9 UAE officers and soldiers, 7 Moroccan soldiers and 42 Blackwater troops.[239][240]

On 19 December 2015, reported clashes leaves over 40 Houthi rebels and 35 government loyalists dead, with dozens wounded on both sides.[241]

In June 2018, anti-Houthi forces led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates assaulted the port of Hudaydah,[242] in an effort to dislodge Houthi forces.[243]

Saudi Arabia faced growing criticism for the Saudi-led naval and air blockade, which effectively isolated the country.[248]

A "military source and pro-Hadi militiamen" told the AFP on 26 April that coalition warships were participating in the shelling of Aden.[249]

On 30 April, the Iranian navy announced it had deployed two destroyers to the Gulf of Aden to "ensure the safety of commercial ships of our country against the threat of pirates", according to a rear admiral.[250] According to the same source, the deployment was scheduled to last until mid-June. Iran's deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, told state-run Tasnim News Agency that "others will not be allowed to put our shared security at risk with military adventures".[251]

Pakistan was called on by Saudi Arabia to join the coalition, but its parliament voted to maintain neutrality.[252] In February 2016, Academi, the security firm withdraw from front-line duties in the Yemen campaign.[11] Qatar was suspended from the coalition due to the 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis.[253] Morocco ended their participation in 2019 due to deterioration of Morocco–Saudi Arabia relations[254] followed by United Arab Emirates in July 2019 amid possible tensions with Iran on the Persian Gulf and differences with Saudi Arabia.[4] Sudan announced its decision to reduce troops commitment from 15,000 to 5,000 in early December 2019.[255]

On 8 May 2015, a spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition declared the entire city of Sa'dah, with a population of around 50,000 people, a military target. According to Human Rights Watch: "This not only violated the laws-of-war prohibition against placing civilians at particular risk by treating a number of separate and distinct military objectives as a single military target, but possibly also the prohibition against making threats of violence whose purpose is to instill terror in the civilian population."[282]

Human Rights Watch compiled the names and ages of some of the people killed in Saada City between 6 April and 11 May. Of the 59 people they found information on, 35 were children and 14 were women.[282] The organisation's analysis of air-strike locations in Sa'dah showed that bombs fell across the city including near markets, schools and hospitals.[282]

U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, Johannes van der Klaauw, agreed that the Saud-led coalition's actions breached international humanitarian law.[257][258] "The indiscriminate bombing of populated areas, with or without prior warning, is in contravention of international humanitarian law," he said.[198] He added that he was concerned that "scores of civilians were reportedly killed and thousands were forced to flee their homes after the coalition declared the entire governate a military target."

Save the Children's Country Director in Yemen, Edward Santiago, said that the "indiscriminate attacks after the dropping of leaflets urging civilians to leave Sa'ada raises concerns about the possible pattern being established in breach of International Humanitarian Law. Warning civilians does not exonerate the coalition from their obligation to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and we have seen in the last days that the warnings have not been enough to spare civilian lives. At the same time, people are largely unable to flee for safety because of the de facto blockade imposed by the coalition leading to severe fuel shortages."[283]

Since the Saudi-led coalition began military operations against Ansar Allah on 26 March 2015, Saudi-led coalition airstrikes unlawfully struck hospitals and other facilities run by aid organizations, according to Human Rights Watch.[284] Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medical facilities in Yemen were attacked four times in three months.[285] On 26 October 2015, HRW documented six Saudi-led airstrikes which bombed a MSF hospital in Haydan district (Sa'dah Governorate), wounding two patients.[284][285][286] A Saudi-led coalition airstrike then hit a MSF mobile clinic on 2 December 2015, in Al Houban district (Taizz). Eight people were wounded, including two MSF staff members, and one other civilian nearby was killed. On 10 January 2016, six people were killed and seven wounded when a hospital in Sa'ada was hit by a projectile.[284][285] MSF said it could not confirm whether the hospital was hit in an air strike by warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition, or by a rocket fired from the ground, and at least one other landed nearby.[284][287] On 21 January 2016, an MSF ambulance was hit by an airstrike. Seven people were killed and dozens were wounded.[284][285]

MSF's director of operations Raquel Ayora said: "The way war is being waged in Yemen is causing enormous suffering and shows that the warring parties do not recognise or respect the protected status of hospitals and medical facilities. We witness the devastating consequences of this on people trapped in conflict zones on a daily basis. Nothing has been spared—not even hospitals, even though medical facilities are explicitly protected by international humanitarian law."[285]

The Saudi embassy in London, in early February 2016, advised United Nations and other aid organizations to move their offices and staff away from "regions where the Houthi militias and their supporters are active and in areas where there are military operations". It claimed this was in order to "protect the international organizations and their employees".[284] The UN refused to pull out the humanitarian aid workers and protested against the Saudi demands.[288][289] On 7 February 2016, the UN humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien wrote to Saudi Arabia's UN Ambassador Abdallah al-Mouallimi, pointing out that Saudi Arabia is obligated under international law to permit access, and has "duty of care obligations under the conduct of military operations for all civilians, including humanitarian workers".[284]

HRW declared, on 17 February 2016, that Saudi Arabia's warnings to stay away were insufficient to fulfil their legal obligations to protect aid stations and their occupants. James Ross, Legal and Policy Director at HRW, said: "A warning is no justification for an unlawful airstrike. They can't shift the blame for shirking their responsibility onto aid agencies that are struggling to address a deepening crisis."[284]

After an air-strike on an MSF hospital in the Hajjah province on 15 August 2016, MSF announced the pulling of their staff from Saada and Hajjah provinces affecting 6 facilities. The group also complained that the results of previous investigations into hospital bombings by the Saudi-led coalition were never shared.[290]

In early May 2015, Human Rights Watch accused Saudi Arabia of using US-supplied cluster munitions on at least two occasions. The Saudi military acknowledged using CBU-105 bombs, but it claimed they were only employed against armoured vehicles and not in population centers.[291][292] Yemeni security officials claimed that cluster bombs were dropped in a civilian area of the Western suburbs of the Yemeni capital Sanaa. In an earlier statement, Saudi Arabia had denied that the Saudi-led military coalition was using cluster bombs at all.[221]

Internationally outlawed cluster bombs supplied by the USA were used by the Saudi-led military coalition and wounded civilians despite evidence of prior civilian casualties, based on multiple reports issued by HRW.[293]

On 8 January 2016, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced that Saudi coalition use of cluster munitions could be a war crime.[294][295] HRW condemned the Saudi-led coalition for the attacks saying: "The coalition's repeated use of cluster bombs in the middle of a crowded city suggests an intent to harm civilians, which is a war crime. These outrageous attacks show that the coalition seems less concerned than ever about sparing civilians from war's horrors."[296] A week later, Amnesty International published new evidence that appeared to confirm reports of coalition forces using US-made cluster munitions on Sanaʽa on 6 January 2016.[297]

In December 2016, a Saudi spokesperson admitted that at least some of the coalition's cluster bombs were manufactured in the United Kingdom. British prime minister Theresa May refused to answer when asked in parliament when she first became aware that UK-made cluster bombs were being used.[298]

Amnesty International has called on Saudi Arabia to destroy its stockpile of cluster bombs and accede to the International Convention on Cluster Munitions. It also asked the Saudi-led coalition to provide the United Nations with precise locations of cluster munition attacks.[299] The coalition has yet to do so.

In May 2019, Saudi Arabia's cargo ship Bahri-Yanbu was blocked from collecting weapons at the French Port of Le Havre by humanitarian groups. Later in the month, Italian union workers refused to load electricity generators on the ship and prevented it from docking, claiming that the weapons on-board would be used against civilians. Despite the protests, the ship docked.[300]

A UN panel of experts said in a report for the UN Security Council in January 2016, which was leaked to The Guardian, that the Saudi-led coalition had undertaken 119 sorties in Yemen that violated international humanitarian law.[294][301][302] The panel said it had "documented that the coalition had conducted airstrikes 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 Sanaʽa, the port in Hudaydah and domestic transit routes". The report said: "Many attacks involved multiple airstrikes on multiple civilian objects. Of the 119 sorties, the panel identified 146 targeted objects. The panel also documented three alleged cases of civilians fleeing residential bombings and being chased and shot at by helicopters."[294][301] While the UN experts were not allowed on the ground in Yemen, they studied satellite imagery of cities before and after attacks, that showed "extensive damage to residential areas and civilian objects".[294][301][302] The UN panel concluded that "civilians are disproportionately affected" by the fighting and deplored tactics that "constitute the prohibited use of starvation as a method of warfare".[294][301] The report said: "The coalition's targeting of civilians through airstrikes, either by bombing residential neighbourhoods or by treating the entire cities of Sa'dah and Maran as military targets, is a grave violation of the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution. In certain cases, the panel found such violations to have been conducted in a widespread and systematic manner."[301] The report called for an international commission, set up by the Security Council, that should "investigate reports of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in Yemen by all parties and to identify the perpetrators of such violations".[294][301] Saudi Arabia had previously objected to an inquiry being set up.[294]

Five days after the release of UN Panel of Experts report on Yemen, on 31 January 2016, the Saudi-led Arab coalition announced it had formed "an independent team of experts in international humanitarian law and weapons to assess the incidents and investigate the rules of engagement". The coalition said the objective was to "develop a clear and comprehensive report on each incident with the conclusions, lessons learned, recommendations and measures that should be taken" to spare civilians.[284][303]

On 16 February 2016, Adama Dieng, the U.N.'s Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, and Jennifer Welsh, the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, said in a joint statement: "We now expect that commitments by the Yemeni authorities and by Saudi Arabia to conduct credible and independent investigations into all alleged violations and provide reparations to victims will be swiftly implemented. It is imperative that the international community also gives immediate consideration to the most effective means of supporting this goal, including the possibility of establishing an international independent and impartial mechanism to support accountability in Yemen."[304]

On 19 September 2020, UN report warned that the UK and other countries of possibly providing arms to Saudi Arabia in terms of "aiding and assisting" the war crimes committed by the coalition in Yemen. The report warned of concerns regarding foreign nations supplying arms to parties of conflict in Yemen, blatantly disregarding documented patterns of severe violations of global humanitarian and human rights law regarding the conflict.[305]

In September 2016, The Washington Post reported that Saudi Arabia "appears" to be using US-made white phosphorus munitions against Yemen, based on images and videos posted to social media. Under US regulations, white phosphorus is only allowed to be used to signal to other troops and to reduce visibility in open ground, creating a smoke-screen. It is not to be used to attack humans as it burns human flesh down to the bone, which is considered excessively cruel. A United States official said the department was looking into whether the Saudis used white phosphorus improperly.[306]

In October 2017, a Yemeni citizen died under "severe torture" inside a secret prison run by the United Arab Emirates in the south of Yemen. As videos showed, the body of Ahmed Dubba revealed disturbing signs of torture after it was released from Khanfar Prison. According to media reports, UAE forces in Yemen had carried out a detention campaign against religious scholars and preachers who opposed their presence in the country where prisoners were subject to physical and psychological torture. According to Yemeni rights group Sam, the issue of secret prisons in Yemen has become a regular phenomenon.[307]

The United Nations alleged that the Saudi-led coalition had committed a war crime[308] because the bombing was a 'double tap' attack. This is when the first bombing is followed by a second one soon after, which aims to attack the wounded, aid workers and medical personnel tending to them. The UN report said: "The second air strike, which occurred three to eight minutes after the first air strike, almost certainly resulted in more casualties to the already wounded and the first responders."[308] Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said that his government was being careful to abide by humanitarian law.[308]

According to the Save the Children group, children have died as a result of Saudi Arabia delaying aid for Yemen by month.[309]

On late March 2019 the British newspaper The Mail on Sunday reported that British Special Forces are fighting on the same side as jihadists and militia which use child soldiers.[310] After the report, the shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry, questioned these allegations in the British parliament suggesting that the British forces may have been witnesses to war crimes, if the allegations were true. She claimed that as many as 40% of the soldiers in the Saudi coalition were children, a breach of international humanitarian law.[311] In response, the UK Foreign Office minister Mark Field called the allegations "very serious and well-sourced" and promised to get to the bottom of these allegations.[311]

In April 2019 the Qatari-based news agency Aljazeera, reported, based in footage of the presence of child soldiers in the recruitment camps of the Saudi-UAE-led coalition. Children from 15 to 16 were recruited from poverty-driven Yemeni villages.[312]

In a controversial decision in 2019, that was opposed by many career professionals, the U.S. secretary of state waived the inclusion of Saudi Arabia on its annual list of countries that recruit child soldiers, even though it met all the criteria to be included.[313] Former deputy secretary of defense for the Middle East, Michael Mulroy, said, "this is a glaring example of an OPAC signatory not adhering to the stipulations of their signed commitments. As an international community, we are not demanding 100 percent compliance, and that needs to change." [314]

Protest against the military intervention in Yemen, New York City, December 2017

On 24 August 2015, the UN special representative of the secretary-general for children and armed conflict said, that of 402 children killed in Yemen since late March 2015, 73 percent were victims of Saudi coalition-led airstrikes.[439][440] The UN also said at this time that an average of 30 people had been killed in Yemen every single day since the beginning of the war. On top of this, more than 23,000 had been wounded.[441]

On 11 September, UN Human Rights Commissioner said that of 1,527 civilians killed between 26 March and 30 June, at least 941 people were killed by airstrikes carried out by the Saudi-led coalition.[442][443][444][445]

On 27 October, the OHCHR said that out of 2,615 civilians killed between 26 March and 26 October 2015, 1,641 civilians had reportedly been killed due to airstrikes carried out by the Saudi-led coalition.[446][447]

The January 2016 report of a UN panel of experts, presented to the UN security council, attributed 60 percent (2,682) of all civilian deaths and injuries in the war since 26 March 2015 to air-launched explosive weapons.[294][301]

On 1 February 2016 Reuters reported: "Mortars and rockets fired at Saudi Arabian towns and villages have killed 375 civilians, including 63 children, since the start of the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen in late March, Riyadh said."[448]

On 16 September 2016, The Guardian reported: "The independent and non-partisan survey, based on open-source data, including research on the ground, records more than 8,600 air attacks between March 2015, when the Saudi-led campaign began, and the end of August this year. Of these, 3,577 were listed as having hit military sites and 3,158 struck non-military sites.... The UN has put the death toll of the 18-month war at more than 10,000, with 3,799 of them being civilians."[449]

In October 2016, a densely populated funeral in Yemen was struck, leaving at least 155 dead[450] and 525 wounded,[451] including the senior military and security officials of the Shia Houthi and loyalists of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.[451] The attack was reportedly carried out by Saudi Arabia.[452] Saudi Arabia accepts the finding of the Joint Incidents Assessment Team, a setup of coalition states to investigate complaints against coalitions' conduct in Decisive Storm, that coalition's bombardment at a funeral ceremony in Sanaʽa, in which over 140 people were killed and more than 600 injured, was based on wrong information.[453] Reportedly, the United States is reviewing its policy of support for the Saudi-led coalition. US Secretary of State John Kerry sought assurances from Saudi Arabia that incidents such as the airstrike on a civilian funeral in Sanaʽa will not happen again. He proposed a cease-fire and a return to talks aiming for a political resolution of the conflict. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said he hoped to institute a 72-hour cease-fire as soon as possible, provided the Houthis will agree.[454]

Ongoing armed conflicts in June 2019.

---

  Major wars, 10,000 or more deaths in current or past year

In December 2017, Saudis killed and injured 600 Yemenis in 26 days.[455]

On 9 August 2018, a school bus was hit by a Saudi airstrike, killing 51 people and injuring 79. 40 of the dead and 56 of the injured were children between the ages of 6 and 11.[456]

In the past few days from 7 November, more than 100 Saudi airstrikes had attacked civilian neighborhoods and a malnutrition clinic run by Save the Children in Hodeidah.[457]

According to the Yemen Data Project, the Saudi-led bombing campaign has killed or injured an estimated 17,729 civilians as of March 2019.[458][459]

As per the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, the Saudi-led coalition has caused around 4,800 civilian deaths and the Houthis have caused around 1,300 out of 7,000 civilian fatalities since 2016. On 16 May 2019, another airstrike in a crowded residential area of Sana'a killed five civilians and injured 31.[460]

An air strike in the northwest Yemen killed seven children and two women, as reported by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on 13 July 2020. The Houthi rebels claimed that the air strike was carried out by the Saudi-led coalition. However, Saudi Arabia denied any involvement in the air strike.[461]

On 6 August 2020, an air strike in northern Yemen killed a large number of civilians. A report by humanitarian coordination agency, UNOCHA, indicated that as many as nine children were killed, while seven children and two women were injured. The UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, condemned air strikes and called for a transparent investigation into the incident.[462]

On 26 March, Interior Ministry officials linked to Ansar Allah documented that 23 civilians had been killed and 24 wounded. Among the dead were 5 children, ages 2 to 13, 6 women and an elderly man. The wounded included 12 children, ages 3 to 8, and 2 women due to airstrike against Sanaʽa particularly in Bani Hawat, a predominantly Houthi neighborhood near Sanaa's airports and al-Nasr, near the presidential palace. HRW documented the deaths of 11 civilians, including 2 women and 2 children, other than those provided by the Yemeni officials along with 14 more wounded, including 3 children and 1 woman. According to AI, that bombing destroyed at least 14 homes in Bani Hawat.[494]

On 31 March, OCHA reported that 13 of 22 Governorates were affected and highlighted infrastructure effects that detailed coalition bombing of a refugee camp that killed 29 and injured 40. Fuel shortages in the south threatened water access to citizens and in Lahj, electricity and water services had not been functioning for several days.[495] Later that day, AI reported that at least six civilians, including four children, were burned to death as a result of an airstrike. It reported that two fuel stations were destroyed. In al-Kadima area in al-Kita, several passengers were killed in a car that had stopped to refuel and a worker was injured. The third strike, apparently aimed at a passing fuel tanker, set fire to at least three civilian homes. AI then stated that "it is becoming increasingly apparent that the Saudi Arabian-led coalition is turning a blind eye to civilian deaths and suffering caused by its military intervention."[496]

On 17 April, OCHA reported on the increasing deterioration of the humanitarian situation, reporting airstrikes hitting in Saada City a water tank, the electricity station, a petrol station, a plastics processing factory, a shopping centre and a housing complex. Several days earlier, airstrikes had hit private homes, the post office, a community centre, government offices, markets and vehicles. Local partners estimated about 50 dead within the past week. In Sanaʽa residential neighborhoods near Assir, Ayban and Faj Attan were affected due to their proximity to military camps. In Amran, airstrikes hit a petrol station, an educational institute and a bridge. According to local reports, a local water corporation in Hajjah (Abbs District) was hit. The report also stated that civilian casualties were under-reported as families without access to hospitals bury their members at home.[497]

On 20 April coalition airstrikes hit the Fajj Atan military base, causing a large explosion that killed 38 civilians and injured over 500. The airstrike also targeted the office of Yemen Today, a TV network owned by Ali Abdullah Saleh, killing three and injuring other workers. An eyewitness reported that emergency rooms were overwhelmed.[498][499] The head of the ICRC in Yemen later clarified that 90 people had died during this attack.[350]

On 21 April the BBC reported a warning from the UN about worsening health services and a dire need for medicines.[500]

On 24 April UNICEF released a report stating that since the start of the military intervention, 115 children had been killed, with at least 64 from aerial bombardment.The F-14's of Saudi Arabia often strike Militia hold outs that miss and hit shelters the homeless and houses.[428]

According to OCHA's fifth report, released on 26 April, humanitarian operations would come to a complete halt within two weeks and hospitals in both Sanaa and Aden would close completely due to the lack of fuel. The lack of fuel affected water supplies. Markets in affected governorates are not able to provide food, with wheat grain and flour prices rising by 42% and 44%, respectively. The healthcare system faced an imminent collapse with hospitals struggling to operate due to lack of medicines and supplies. Essential medicine prices increased by 300%.

Casualties from 19 March to 22 April reached 1,080 (28 children and 48 women) and 4,352 wounded (80 children and 143 women). According to the WFP, 12 million people were food insecure, a 13% rise.[501]

On 29 April OCHA reported that airstrikes hit SIA on 28 April, damaging the runway and hampering aid deliveries. Airstrikes were also reported at Al Hudayda Airport and Saada. Widespread internet and phone disruptions were reported in several governorates due to the lack of fuel and electricity. On 25 April, the Yemen Public Telecommunications Corporation warned that unless the fuel crisis was resolved, telecommunication services (mobile phones, internet, and land lines) would shut down within a week. The disruption in communication was affecting information flow on humanitarian needs and operations. On 29 April, Haradh was heavily bombarded, including areas near the main hospital. Food distribution and aid would reportedly stop within a week if additional fuel could not be obtained. As of 29 April the Al Hudaydah Governorate ran out of fuel and aid operations could not be completed.[349]

On 30 April OCHA's Flash Update 22 reported that airstrikes hit the only main roads that connect the Sanaʽa Governorate with Ibb. It also indicated that over 3,410 people from Yemen had arrived in Somalia since the fighting escalated, with 2,285 arrivals registered in Puntland and 1,125 registered in the Somaliland. A further 8,900 migrants were registered in Djibouti, 4,700 of whom were third country nationals.[502]

On 4 May coalition airstrikes hit SIA, destroying a cargo ship and other planes used to transport food and supplies.[503] OCHA reported that several airstrikes hit the Al Hudayda airport and surrounding areas in Al Hudayda City. In Aden, the districts of Craiter and Al-Muala were without electricity, water and telecommunication for over a week according to residents.[504]

On 5 May, in order to send humanitarian aid, van der Klaauw haggled with the coalition to stop bombing SIA. He emphasized the effects on persons with disabilities stating that over 3,000,000 people with disabilities could not meet their basic needs. The conflict forced more than 300 centres to close. He added that they were especially concerned about an airstrike that targeted a military field hospital.[351]

On 6 May, the OCHA reported lack of fuel to support humanitarian operations beyond one week, with fuel and food prices continuing to increase.[505] The World Food Programme declared that shortages of fuel has changed to a serious threat for hospitals and food supplies. Edward Santiago, country director for Save the Children, said in statement a short time ceasefire is not enough to allow for humanitarian supplies.[506]

On 7 May, trade sources stated that merchant ships had been delayed weeks Yemen and in one case, following inspection and approval, a food supply ship was denied access. The food crisis increased to include over 20 million people (80% of the population) going hungry.[507] Airstrikes destroyed a mine factory and a communications center. Local sources reported that 13 villagers were killed due to shelling near the border.[508]

On 18 May, HRW documented airstrikes that hit homes and markets and killed and wounded civilians. HRW documented the bombing of four markets.[358]

The conflict is exacerbating Yemen's water scarcity, Sanaa, 21 May 2015

On 21 May, OCHA reported airstrikes that hit two farms adjacent to a humanitarian facility in Hajjah Governorate and resulted in civilian casualties. A warehouse containing humanitarian supplies was damaged in another strike. In Sa'adah City, satellite imagery analysis identified widespread damage to infrastructure with 1,171 structures affected, damaged or destroyed. The analysis showed that as of 17 May, 35 impact craters existed within the city, mostly along the runway of Sa'ada airport. Similar imagery of Aden identified 642 affected structures, including 327 destroyed. Local partners reported that 674 schools were forced to close in Sanaʽa, affecting 551,000 students.[363]

Fuel prices increased by over 500% and food supplies by 80% since 26 March. The continued restrictions on the arrival of goods via air and sea ports, and insecurity on roads, restricted the delivery of essential supplies. In Sanaʽa, security concerns due to airstrikes prevented delivery of food assistance.

On 21 May, five Ethiopian migrants were killed and two others injured in an airstrike that hit open space 500 metres from an IOM-managed Migrant Response Centre. With continued conflict and import restrictions, Emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes were likely in the coming month. In six governorates, reports from OCHA partners show that basic food items are no longer available (Aden, Abyan, Al Dhale'e, Al Bayda, Lahj, Sa'ada).[509]

On 3 June, The Operations Room of the Ministry of Health in Sanaʽa was damaged. It manages emergency operations nationwide.[510]

On 5 June, The Washington Post reported that several Yemeni cultural and heritage strikes had been repeatedly targeted by Saudi airstrikes. Reports stated that Al-Qahira Castle, the 1,200-year-old al-Hadi Mosque and Dhamar Museum with over 12,500 artifacts[511] were destroyed and the Great Dam of Marib was hit.[512]

On 17 June, an OCHA report highlighted that food security had continued to worsen, with 19 out of 22 governorates now classified 'crisis' or 'emergency'. Half the population was 'food insecure' and nearly a quarter 'severely food insecure. A joint analysis of household food security by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) WFP and the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation in Yemen (MoPIC) found that Yemen was sliding into catastrophe. More than six million Yemenis were then in a Phase 4 Emergency, and nearly 6.9 million people are in a Phase 3 Crisis: These figures indicate that Yemen was approaching a complete breakdown in food security and health.[513]

An airstrike in Sanaʽa on a textile factory in July 2015 left more than 1,300 people unemployed (photo: A. Mojalli/VOA, November 2015)[514]

Apartment building destroyed by a strike in Sanaa on 5 September 2015

On 26 July, the OCHA announced that airstrikes hit the residential complex of the Al Mukha Power Station in Al Mukha District, Taiz Governorate with health facilities reporting 55 deaths and 96 injuries and media reports as high as 120, all civilians.[515]

On 27 August, the OCHA announced that airstrikes targeting that Al-Hudaydah port facilities late on 17 August and early 18 August had brought the port activities to a near halt and that the port was empty of all vessels and remained non-operational. A UN-chartered aid vessel carrying 2,230 MT of mixed food commodities left the port and was rerouted to Djibouti.[490]

On 5 January 2016, an airstrike by the Saudi-led military coalition hit the Al Noor Center for Care and Rehabilitation of Blind, in the Safiah district of Sanaʽa,[516][517][518] the capital's only center, school, and home for people with visual disabilities.[518][519] Five people were injured. Human Rights Watch and media reported, if the bomb had exploded, the damage would have been much worse.[518][520] Human Rights Watch blamed both the Saudi-led coalition for hitting civilian targets and the Houthi militants battling the coalition. HRW said Houthi militants were partially to blame for using civilian sites for military purposes. Armed Houthis were stationed near the Al Noor center, putting the students at risk.[518][519][520]

On 20 April 2016 the UN General Assembly Security Council in a report covering the period January to December 2015 "verified a sixfold increase in the number of children killed and maimed compared with 2014, totalling 1,953 child casualties (785 children killed and 1,168 injured). More than 70 per cent were boys. Of the casualties, 60 per cent (510 deaths and 667 injuries) were attributed to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition."[521]

On 8 October 2016, airstrikes by Saudi-led coalition force kill 140 people and injuring 500 persons in one of the single worst death tolls in the two-year war. There are coalitions between Saudi Arabia and his allies in the subject. Also, the United Kingdom is under pressure for exporting Lucrative Arms and weapons to Saudi Arabia.[437]

On 2 August 2018, The New York Times reported that at least 30 people were killed when the Saudi-led coalition air force hit a fish market, the entrance to the main hospital and a security compound.[522]

On 9 August 2018, a Saudi airstrike in Dahyan hit a school bus causing approximately 51 deaths. Many of these deaths were schoolchildren and other civilians.

On 8 October 2019, Yemen made an agreement to hand over Aden to Saudi Arabia.[523]

On 7 February 2020, Yemeni hospitals were attacked, leaving more than thousands of civilians in need of immediate medical attention followed by a disrupted healthcare facility. The attack was a result of clashes between warring parties of Yemen; Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen and Houthis.[524][525]

Saada was the governorate of origin of 500,794 IDPs (out of 2,509,068 in total) as of December 2015.[264]

On 18 April, an airstrike in Saada hit an Oxfam warehouse, damaging humanitarian supplies and killing at least one civilian. Aid groups widely condemned the strike.[348][526]

On 8 and 9 May 2015, large-scale displacement was reported in Saada to neighbouring areas, after the Saudi-led military coalition declared the entire Saada governorate a "military zone" and started heavy airstrikes.[259][527] Around 70,000 people, including 28,000 children, fled from the Governorate of Sa'ada. The Save the Children's Country Director in Yemen, Edward Santiago, said that many more were "largely unable to flee for safety because of the de facto blockade imposed by the coalition leading to severe fuel shortages".[283] On 9 May 2015, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, Johannes van der Klaauw, condemned the air strikes on Saada city as being in breach of international humanitarian law.[257][258]

In August 2015 the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED) reported that "the crisis has taken an immeasurably heavy toll on civilians in this poor, rural governorate, causing death, injury and frequent damage and destruction of infrastructure."[528]

In January 2016 the Houthi-controlled Saada area, including medical facilities run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), received almost daily attacks. Michael Seawright, a Saada-based MSF project coordinator, said that they treated a high number of casualties, many with severe injuries. The Shiara hospital in Razeh District in Saada City, the only hospital with a trauma centre in the governorate of Saada and in most of northern Yemen, was hit on 10 January, and several people were killed, including medical personnel. MSF had been working in the facility since November 2015.[529][530]

457.502 IDPs (out of 2,509,068 in total) originated from Sanaʽa Governorate and Sanaʽa city as of December 2015.[264]

After the Old City of Sanaʽa was heavily bombed in May 2015, causing severe damage to many of its historic buildings, Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, said "I am particularly distressed by the news concerning air strikes on heavily populated areas such as the cities of Sanaʽa and Saa'dah."[531]

Following a surge in aerial bombing raids in the Old City of Sanaʽa in June 2015, the UN warned, that the country's extensive archaeological and historic heritage had been increasingly under threat.[532] In July 2015, the Old City of Sanaʽa, which had sustained serious damage due to armed conflict, was added to List of World Heritage in Danger.[533]

On 6 September 2015, Al Sabaeen paediatric hospital in Sanaʽa had to be evacuated after a nearby airstrike. The United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) described the event as "a severe blow to a tattered health system".[534] Before its closure the Al Sabaeen paediatric hospital—standing amid bombed out buildings in the center of Sanaʽa—had been the primary paediatric hospital in the area.[535] "Before the crisis it had a catchment population of about 300,000; but, since the crisis that number has risen to almost 3 million, with the entire governorate reliant on it for specialist care," said Save the Children spokesperson Mark Kaye.[535][536]

A joint report by the UK-based charity Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) and the UN-OCHA, that concluded that airstrikes were responsible for 60 percent of civilian casualties in the first seven months of 2015,[537][538] came to the result, that more than half (53 per cent) of the reported civilian toll was recorded in Sanaʽa and surrounding districts.[539]

On 7 January 2016, HRW reported and condemned that the Saudi Arabia-led coalition forces had used cluster bombs on residential areas of Sanaa on 6 January.[296] On 8 January the United Nations warned that their use could be a war crime.[294][295][540][541] The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was "particularly concerned about reports of intense airstrikes in residential areas and on civilian buildings in Sanaʽa, including the Chamber of Commerce, a wedding hall and a centre for the blind".[541][542]

Development of the number of IDPs and IDP returnees (January 2010 – June 2018)[544][545][546]

In April and May 2015 mass displacement was observed primarily in Saada, Amran and Hajjah governorates as airstrikes and shelling intensified in the north of Yemen.[527]

On 13 April, OCHA reported that (as of 11 April) more than 120,000 people were estimated to have been internally displaced since 26 March 2015.[547]

On 17 May the UN, citing Yemen's health services, said that as of 15 May 545,000 had been internally displaced because of the war,[548][549] up from 450,000 announced on 15 May 2015.[549][550][551]

On 1 June, the UN announced that 1,019,762 people had been internally displaced as of 28 May 2015.[552][553]

On 6 July the UN announced that as of 2 July there were 1,267,590 internally displaced people in Yemen.[554]

On 5 August, a task force of the Global Protection Cluster announced their estimate of 1,439,118 internally displaced persons from more than 250,000 households in Yemen.[555]

On 15 October the IOM-UNHCR displacement-tracking mechanism published new data showing in the 5th RFPM report that the IDP population had reached 2,305,048 people.[556][557]

The 6th RFPM report (published on 10 December 2015) gave a figure of 2,509,068 internally displaced persons.[264] Much of the increase from the previous report, published in October, could be attributed to improved tracking methods.[264][556]

"Let Yemen Live" protest at US and Saudi missions to the UN, New York City, December 2017

On 14 June 2015, OCHA reported a large outbreak of Dengue fever that killed over 113 people and infected over 4,000. Patients could not be treated due to lack of water in affected areas. OCHA was also investigating reports of a Measles outbreak. Health officials considered the breakdown in health services, including decrease in immunization coverage, closure of health facilities and difficulty in accessing health services as possible contributing factors.[558]

In June 2015, Oxfam's humanitarian programme manager in Sanaa said that Saudi-led naval blockade "means it's impossible to bring anything into the country. There are lots of ships, with basic things like flour, that are not allowed to approach. The situation is deteriorating, hospitals are now shutting down, without diesel. People are dying of simple diseases."[23]

On 1 July 2015, the UN announced that Yemen was at the highest level of humanitarian disaster with over 80% of the population needing help. UN agencies agreed to classify Yemen as a level 3 emergency as the UN Envoy for Yemen stated that Yemen is one step away from famine.[559]

In February 2016, the OCHA reported that 21 million people (85% of the population) were in need of some form of humanitarian assistance, 7.6 million people were "severely" food insecure, and that more than 3.4 million children were not attending school.[491]

On 4 October 2016, the UN children's agency UNICEF said 1.5 million children in Yemen suffer of malnutrition, including 370,000 enduring very severe malnutrition.[560]

In October 2016, health authorities in Yemen confirmed a cholera outbreak in Sanaa and Taiz.[561] In June 2017, cholera cases passed 100,000 with 798 deaths in the country. The water and sanitation systems are largely inoperable[562] Numerous international humanitarian organisations have pointed to the Saudi-led naval and aerial blockade and bombing campaign as central causes behind the preventable cholera epidemic.[563][564]

With the right medicines, these [diseases] are all completely treatable – but the Saudi Arabia-led coalition is stopping them from getting in.

— Grant Pritchard, Save the Children's interim country director for Yemen, April 2017, Vice News[565]

More than 50,000 children in Yemen died from starvation in 2017.[566][567] The number rose to 85,000 as of December 2018.[568] The famine in Yemen is the direct result of the Saudi Arabian-led intervention and blockade of Yemen.[569][570] In December 2017, the Guardian reported: "Data on coalition airstrikes collected by the Yemen Data Project have recorded 356 air raids targeting farms, 174 targeting market places and 61 air raids targeting food storage sites from March 2015 to the end of September 2017."[571]

According to the OCHA's March 2019 report, 108,889 suspected cholera and acute watery diarrhea cases were reported between January and mid-March, with one third cases of children below 5 five years. Around 190 people died in the mentioned period.[572] In August 2016, a Joint Incidents Assessment Team was formed by the coalition parties to investigate alleged laws of war violations.[573] But the team failed to meet international standards regarding transparency, impartiality, and independence. It failed to investigate and apply human rights law in the civil war and instead acted as a shield against the parties accountable for the war.[574]

Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh was initially allied with Houthis, until they assassinated him on accounts of treason.

Following the call by the leader of the Houthi movement, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, tens of thousands Yemenis of various socioeconomic backgrounds took to the streets of the rebel-controlled capital, Sanaʽa, to voice their anger at the Saudi intervention.[577]

On 21 April 2015, representatives of 19 Yemeni political parties and associations rejected UN Resolution 2216, stating that it encouraged terrorist expansion, intervened in Yemen's sovereign affairs, violated Yemen's right of self-defence and emphasized the associations' support of the Yemeni Army.[578][579]

On 23 April, a spokesman for the Houthis said UN-sponsored peace talks should continue, but only following "a complete halt of attacks" by the coalition.[580]

In a televised address on 24 April, Saleh called on the Houthis and other armed groups to withdraw from the territory they had seized and participate in UN-sponsored peace talks, in exchange for an end to the air campaign.[581] Exiled Yemeni Foreign Minister rejected the peace proposal saying that Saleh had no role in the talks.[582]

On 26 April, the General Authority for Archeology and Museums in Yemen condemned attacks targeting historical sites. The statement highlighted an attack that completely destroyed an ancient fortress in the Damt District of the Ad Dali' Governorate.[583] Yemeni political parties issued a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon requesting that he continue the peace talks. The letter emphasized that Yemen was still under attack by air, land and sea and that the existing blockade was increasing the humanitarian crisis and that education had been denied for 3 million students due to the "random attacks".[584]

On 2 May 2015, the Yemenis Forum of Persons With Disability stated that 300 centres and organizations had been forced to stop operations following the intervention. The organization denounced the air and sea blockade that "increased the suffering of the disabled greatly".[585] The same day Hussein al-Ezzi, the Houthi head of foreign relations, sent a letter addressed to Secretary General Ban seeking an end to the "unjustified Saudi aggression".[586] He asked the UN to seek an end to what Houthis described as blatant aggression against the country.[587]

On 7 May, 17 humanitarian agencies stressed that life-saving aid would run out in a week and emphasized the need to remove the existing blockade. The International Non-Government Organizations Forum in Yemen appealed for allowing basic materials to enter the country immediately.[588]

On 10 May, Houthi military spokesman Sharaf Luqman welcomed the Russian initiative, which advocated a suspension of military operations and also lifting the blockade.[589]

On 26 March 2017, the second anniversary of the war, over a hundred thousand Houthi supporters demonstrated in Sanaa protesting the Saudi aggression and expressing solidarity.[590]

Yemen's President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 7 May 2015

Anti-Houthi groups, especially Sunnis, while supporting the intervention did not wish for the return to power of Hadi, since they viewed him as the man "who ceded control of the capital without a fight six months ago".[591]

On 3 April, the Al-Islah party, the Yemeni branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, declared its support for the campaign.[592] Supporters of the party reportedly suffered consequences, including kidnappings and raids, as a result of this declaration.[593][594]

On 26 April, the foreign minister in Hadi's government, Riad Yaseen, rejected Saleh's calls for UN-sponsored peace talks on the ground.[595]

On 5 April a firefight broke out between anti-government Shiite rioters and security forces in Saudi Arabia's Shiite-minority in Eastern Province, with one police officer killed and three others injured.[596] The firefight broke out after calls in the Eastern Province to protest against the military intervention.[597]

On 29 April, King Salman dismissed his appointed crown prince, Muqrin of Saudi Arabia. Some regional political analysts speculated that the decision was precipitated by Muqrin's alleged opposition to the intervention. Salman appointed Muhammad bin Nayef, who publicly announced his support of the operation, to replace Muqrin.[598][599]

Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (right) is considered the architect of the war in Yemen

On 21 April, Saudi prince Al-Waleed bin Talal reportedly offered 100 Bentleys to participating pilots. The announcement was met with substantial criticism.[600]

Among the general populace, the war was popular.[601]

King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain in 2015

On 3 April Bahrainis protested against the war on Yemen.[602] A prominent Bahraini opposition politician, Fadhel Abbas, was reportedly arrested by Bahraini authorities for condemning the bombing as "flagrant aggression".[603]

Supporters of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood demonstrated against Egypt's military intervention.[604]

Shiite parliament member Abdul Hamid Dashti reportedly criticized the war and described it as an "act of aggression".[605] A prominent Shiite lawyer, Khalid Al Shatti, was summoned by Kuwaiti authorities for his criticism of the Saudi government.[606]

On 28 April, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah stated that the only solution to the Yemen crisis was political.[607]

Foreign Ministers of the U.S., the U.K., Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, before a working dinner focused on Yemen, 19 July 2016

The Arab League, United States, Turkey, OIC and Hamas voiced support for the intervention,[608][609][610][611] but the European Union, Russia[612] and the United Nations criticised it.[613][614][615] The United Kingdom, and France supported the intervention,[616] and along with Canada have supplied the Saudi military with equipment.[617][618][619]

Iran condemned intervention as "US-backed aggression".[620] Iran's U.N. Ambassador Gholamali Khoshroo said that "those who violate international law, including international humanitarian law, should be held accountable for their acts and there should be no room for impunity."[621] Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi expressed the Iraqi government's opposition to the intervention: "This (Yemen war) can engulf the whole region in another conflict. We don't need another sectarian war in the region."[622] The Hezbollah secretary general criticized Saudi Arabia and its allies, saying "all invaders end up being defeated".[623]

The Chinese foreign ministry expressed in January 2016 its support for the intervention and the Hadi government, while stressing its desire for a resumption of stability in Yemen.[624]

Somalia's government blamed the Saudi-led coalition for the killing of at least 42 Somali refugees off the Yemeni coast. Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire called the attack on a boat carrying refugees "atrocious" and "appalling".[409]

Protesters against the US-backed Saudi-led war on Yemen were led away handcuffed by New York police outside the US mission to the UN on 11 December 2017

Asian countries including China, India, Malaysia and Pakistan, moved within days to evacuate their citizens from Yemen.[625][626][627][628]

On 4 April, the ICRC called for a 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire after the coalition blocked three aid shipments to Yemen.[629] Russia also called for "humanitarian pauses" in the coalition bombing campaign, bringing the idea before the United Nations Security Council in a 4 April emergency meeting.[630] Saudi Arabia's UN ambassador raised questions over whether humanitarian pauses are the best way of delivering humanitarian assistance.[631] On 7 April, China renewed calls for an immediate ceasefire.[632]

On 10 April, the Pakistani Parliament declined a Saudi Arabian request to join the coalition. The Parliament clarified the wish to maintain a neutral diplomatic stance.[633]

France authorised $18 billion (€16 billion) in arms sales to Saudi Arabia in 2015.[619]

On 16 April a group of US and UK-based Yemen scholars wrote an open letter, stating that the operation was illegal under international law and calling for the UN to enforce an immediate ceasefire.[634]

On 19 April, international aid agency Oxfam condemned SA over airstrikes it said hit one of its warehouses containing humanitarian supplies in Saada.[635]

Aid groups came out against the air campaign: Amnesty International said some of the coalition's airstrikes "appear to have failed to take necessary precautions to minimize harm to civilians and damage to civilian objects".[636] Reporters without Borders condemned a strike in Sanaa on 20 April that caused the deaths of four employees of Al-Yemen Al-Youm TV and injured ten others; it also condemned attacks on journalists by pro-Houthi forces.[637]

On 4 May the UN called on the coalition to stop attacking Sanaa Airport to allow delivery of humanitarian aid.[638] On 10 May the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen stated that the attacks on Saada province were in breach of international law.[639] On 29 June, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon denounced a coalition airstrike that had hit a UN compound in Aden the previous day and requested a full investigation.[640]

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has criticized Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen

Human Rights Watch criticized the UN Security Council repeatedly for "remaining almost silent on coalition abuses".[261][256][641] In January 2016 an unpublished United Nations panel investigating the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen uncovered "widespread and systematic" attacks on civilian targets in violation of international humanitarian law, calling UN Security Council up for an international commission of inquiry.[294][301][302] Saudi Arabia had previously objected to an inquiry being set up,[294][642] and had not been supported by Western governments.[445][643][644][645]

In February 2016 the Secretary-General of the UN (UNSG) Ban Ki-moon raised strong concerns over continued Saudi-led airstrikes, saying that "coalition air strikes in particular continue to strike hospitals, schools, mosques and civilian infrastructures" in Yemen. He urged States that are signatories to the Arms Trade Treaty to "control arms flows to actors that may use them in ways that breach of international humanitarian law".[646][647]

In June 2016, Ban Ki-moon removed a Saudi-led coalition from a list of children's rights violators,[648] saying that Saudi Arabia threatened to cut Palestinian aid and funds to other UN programs if coalition was not removed from blacklist for killing children in Yemen. According to one source, there was also a threat of "clerics in Riyadh meeting to issue a fatwa against the UN, declaring it anti-Muslim, which would mean no contacts of OIC members, no relations, contributions, support, to any UN projects, programs".[649]

In September 2016, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was accused of blocking the UN inquiry into Saudi war crimes in Yemen.[650]

In April 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron voiced support for the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen and defended France's arms sales to the Saudi-led coalition.[651]

Bahri Abha – the Saudi Arabian ship arrived on 10 December 2019, at the Sagunto, Valencia port, where they were faced by Spanish Control Arms campaign organizations. Since the beginning of the Yemen war, the same ship has reportedly ferried $162 million worth of US-made arms to the kingdom. The organizations of the likes of Amnesty International, FundiPau, Greenpeace and Oxfam Intermón have objected to the shipment of arms from Spanish port.[652]

On June 15, 2020, Secretary-General of the UN, António Guterres, removed the Saudi-led coalition from a list of children's rights violators despite continued grave violations against children in Yemen.[653]

On 15 May 2015, new UN envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed proposed peace talks in Geneva. Rebel spokesman Hamed al-Bokheiti said the Houthis were willing to hold talks in any "neutral" country.[690] Five days later the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon announced that peace talks would be held in Geneva starting on 28 May and urged all parties to participate.[691] Houthi rebels reiterated their support for the talks while exiled government officials said they would participate only if the Houthi's withdrew from occupied cities.[692]

On 26 May, Ban announced that the peace talks were to be postponed indefinitely after exiled Yemeni officials refused to attend until rebels withdrew from all occupied cities.[693] On 6 June the UN announced that peace talks would take place on 14 June[694] Both the exiled officials and the Houthi group confirmed their attendance.[367]

Secretary-General Ban called for a "humanitarian pause" during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Peace talks between the exiled government and the Houthis concluded in Geneva without reaching a ceasefire.[695][696]

On 4 July 2015, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam said in a post on his Facebook page that he had met Ahmed on Friday to discuss a Ramadan truce. The US and EU announced their support for a humanitarian truce.[697]

On 9 July, the UN announced an unconditional truce between 10 July until the end of Eid ul Fitr on 17 July. The Special Envoy to Yemen assured the agreement of all warring factions.[698] The truce was interrupted within an hour by airstrikes.[699] Coalition spokesman later added that the coalition was not bound by the truce and that any truce would be counterproductive.[700] It later added that it was not requested to pause by the exiled Yemeni Government.[701]

On 8 September 2015, Vice News revealed a leaked email by UN Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed. In it, the envoy confirms that Houthi rebels and the party of former president and Houthi ally Ali Abdullah Saleh have expressed willingness to accept—with some reservations—a UN Security Council resolution, approved in April. This demanded the rebels "withdraw their forces from all areas they have seized, including the capital, Sanaa". "AA/GPC agreed to a new wording on UNSC resolution 2216 that states unequivocally that they are committed to the implementation of 2216 (see document attached) with the exception of article which infringe on Yemeni sovereignty and those related to sanctions," wrote Ould Cheikh Ahmed, referring to Ansar Allah (AA)—another name for the Houthis—and Saleh's General People's Congress party (GPC). "In addition, the new text includes acceptance of the return of the current government for a period of 60 days during which a government of national unity shall be formed," wrote the envoy in the email. According to Ould Cheikh Ahmed, during talks, the Houthis gave ground on certain language, including "mandatory support by the international community for reconstruction that was in the earlier version". "The latter was particularly opposed by KSA Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and GCC Gulf Cooperation Council who did not want it to be interpreted as a form of mandatory compensation," added the UN envoy.[702]

On 10 September, UN Envoy to Yemen announced that all parties had agreed to peace talks. A statement from Hadi's office following a meeting on the issue of new talks affirmed the president's "complete support for the sincere efforts exerted by the special envoy". It urged Ahmed to "exert efforts to achieve the public and honest commitment on the part of the Houthis and Saleh" to implement 14 April council resolution unconditionally.[703] On 13 September, the exiled Yemeni government announced that it would no longer participate in the peace talks.[704]

On 18 April, peace talks aimed at ending Yemen's civil war that were set to begin faltered before they could start, when delegates representing Yemen's Houthi rebels refused to attend.[705]

On 20 April, talks convened, based on UN Security Council resolution 2216 which called for the Houthi fighters to withdraw from areas they seized since 2014 and hand heavy weapons back to the government.[706]

On 6 August, the UN special envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, announced the suspension in Kuwait, where the talks were being held. He said that the negotiations were not a failure and that they would resume in a month at an undisclosed location. Mr. Ahmed is the second United Nations envoy to try to broker peace talks between the Houthis and other factions in Yemen since March 2015. His predecessor quit after similar peace talk efforts failed. After the breakdown of the talks, one of the Houthi negotiators, Nasser Bagazgooz, blamed the United Nations envoy for seeking what he said amounted to a military solution on behalf of the Saudi-led coalition.[707] Previous negotiations floated the idea of forming a unity government—composed of Houthi and former Hadi government leaders. But the exiled Hadi leaders have consistently rejected any deal that would diminish their power over Yemen, and the Houthis have said that they will reject any deal that does not give them a seat at the table.[708][709][710]

November ceasefire

The Saudi-led military coalition and Houthis (Ansar Allah) arrived at a swift ceasefire agreement effective 17 November 2016, as a result of efforts of US Secretary of State John Kerry and Omani dignitaries.[711]

After the United Nations urged both sides to pursue peace talks in order to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in Yemen,[712] the Saudi-led coalition called a unilateral ceasefire beginning 9 April at noon, to support efforts to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic.[713] However, despite pledging ceasefire in Yemen, Saudi-led coalition carried out dozens of airstrikes in the span of a week. The Yemen Data Project stated that at least 106 Saudi-led airstrikes, across 26 raids in Yemen had been carried out by the Kingdom in just one week.[714] On July 2, coalition fighter jets launched scores of airstrikes on several Yemeni provinces. The operation was a response to ballistic missile and drone launchings by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia.[715] Both sides stepped up their attacks in September.[716]