The attack of 29 November 2020 against Al Ghaza village, in Al Hudaydah Governorate, caused civilian casualties. Five children and three women were killed, and another three children and three women were severely injured. The Governorate, despite the ceasefire agreed, records the highest number of civilian casualties, with 620 deaths within the first nine months of 2020.
The attack represents a clear political move and a legal breach of international humanitarian law. As Xavier Joubert, Save the Children’s Yemen Country Director, noticed, “the deadly attack comes just two weeks before the second anniversary of the Stockholm agreement which seemed to be a political breakthrough in the peace process.” The purpose of the Stockholm agreement was to put an end to the violence in Al Hudaydah and Taiz, the two Yemeni cities most hit by the conflict. Words of discontent also came from the Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, Mr. Musani, who described the attack as “unacceptable and unjustifiable […] a clear breach of international humanitarian law.”
The pandemic has aggravated the situation in Yemen, causing delays in the humanitarian response. As a consequence, the population is facing a rise in food insecurity, malnutrition, and famine. In light of this, Mr. Musani urges “the parties of the conflict [to] find a way to work towards sustainable peace and prevent further misery and save lives.” Amongst the parties are also included the international powers fuelling the crisis.
Yemen remains the world’s worst humanitarian crisis with approximately 24 million persons, requiring humanitarian assistance. By the end of 2020, only 1.6 billion US$ of the 3.6 US$ allocated had been received.
To know more, please read:
https://civilianimpactmonitoring.org/onewebmedia/CIMP%20Quarterly%20Report_2020_Q3.pdf
Author: Martina Ravagnani
