Between 27 and 28 July 2018, airstrikes hit multiple buildings that provided civilians with hygiene and water supplies in Hudaydah, located in eastern Yemen along the Red Sea. The first building struck was a water station in the al-Mina District. The second building was a UNICEF-supported warehouse in the Zabid District which served as a sanitation center. According to a statement from Henrietta H. Fore, the Executive Director of UNICEF, these attacks are “unacceptable, inhumane, and in breach of the basic laws of war.”
Hudaydah is a major port for Yemen as 70 percent of humanitarian supplies, goods, and food pass through the city’s docks. These past two attacks are not the first targeting civilian infrastructure in Yemen. A large water facility in Sa’ada was struck in the last week of July, 2018, which cut off 10,500 people from access to safe drinking water. According to Unicef, attacks like this increase the probability of waterborne illnesses, such as cholera, spreading throughout Yemen.
As reported by the Red Cross, cholera outbreak in Yemen has killed around 2,000 individuals by August 2017. Currently, around 8.6 million children are without access to safe water which put them at a higher risk of waterborne illnesses. UNICEF stated that the destruction of the water and sanitation facilities in the al-Mina and Zabid districts jeopardize their efforts to prevent a future outbreak of cholera.
UNICEF is calling for those involved in fighting to focus on the protection of civilian infrastructure and all civilians. Civilians have been caught up in the conflict between the Yemeni government, supported by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and Houthi rebel forces for the past three years. This ongoing conflict has resulted in over 22 million people in Yemen needing humanitarian assistance.
To read more visit:
https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/08/1016072
https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/drinking-water-systems-under-repeated-attack-yemen-1
https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/access-water-continues-be-jeopardized-millions-children-war-torn-yemen
By Cecilia D'Arville
Editing: Shrabya Ghimire
