CIMP Monthly Report - April 2023

Lowest monthly civilian casualty count since October 2022
150 civilian casualties were reported in Yemen during April 2023, the lowest monthly civilian casualty count seen countrywide since October 2022, and down 18% from the 183 civilian casualties reported in March. Despite the drop in casualties, the number of fatalities among the casualties remained the same, at 49; the joint highest fatality count this year. The number of children among the casualties almost halved from the previous month, from 30 to 16, but there was a slight increase in the number of women casualties reported, up to 12 from eight in March. Shelling was responsible for the highest casualty numbers, at 56, the majority of whom were reported on the Sa’dah border. This was followed by small arms fire (SAF) shootings, which were responsible for 45 civilian casualties.

A third of the casualties were fatalities, driven in large part by SAF incidents
Small arms fire was responsible for 45 civilian casualties during April, more than half of whom (23) were fatalities. This is the highest monthly civilian SAF casualty count to have been reported since April 2022, and the highest monthly SAF fatality count since September 2021. The four shootings to see the highest casualty numbers were all on account of internal family disputes. In Kushar district, Hajjah, five civilians, including a woman and her husband, their daughter and two sons, were shot dead following a family dispute. In Ibb, similarly, three children and a woman, all from the same family, were shot dead in an isolated incident, and in Hudaydah, three civilians were shot dead and another two women were injured when a family member opened fire on them during a dispute.

There were also two marketplace shootings, in Lahij and Shabwah, and in Ta’izz, four civilians were injured when local security forces used live fire to disperse a protest in Nashamah. Although economic grievances remain incendiary, and commercial centres such as marketplaces are likely to continue to see outbreaks of armed violence, the growing numbers of casualties in the domestic space is reflective of the pervasive presence of weaponry, including in civilian spaces, and the heightened propensity for disputes to escalate into armed violence, likely compounded by a number of factors. Of the 45 civilian SAF casualties reported during April, 15 were reported in Ta’izz, where insecurity remains high, followed by six in each of Shabwah and Ibb.

Lowest civilian ERW casualty count seen since 2021
Explosive remnants of warfare (ERW), including landmines and UXO, were collectively responsible for 16 civilian casualties in April, down by almost half from the 28 civilian ERW casualties reported in March. The number marks a decrease for the fourth consecutive month, and is the lowest to have been reported countrywide since November 2021, before the frontlines in Hudaydah shifted south, and before the countrywide truce entered into force in April 2022. Hudaydah continues to see the highest proportion of ERW casualties, accounting for nine of the 16 casualties reported countrywide, although this too was a decrease of almost 50% from the 17 ERW casualties reported in Hudaydah in March.

The decrease could be driven by a number of factors. It is possible that the lull on the frontlines has allowed demining teams greater access and freedom of movement to carry out clearance operations. Similarly, with greater frontline stability, population movement, including displacement and returnees, may be lower, allowing for more comprehensive threat awareness to permeate among local communities. It is also possible that targeted awareness-raising campaigns are yielding a positive impact.

Children have typically been more vulnerable to UXO and landmines due to heightened inquisitiveness and mobility in more remote areas, for example while herding livestock, playing, or collecting firewood. For instance, more than half (9) of the past month’s ERW casualties were children, including six in Hudaydah. In the incident to see the highest ERW casualties, on 5 April, a four-year-old child was killed and three children, aged nine, 12 and 15 were injured when a landmine exploded in Al-Jabaliyah area in At Tuhayat, southern Hudaydah. However, in another incident in Hays district at the start of May, two children who were herding livestock discovered a minefield when they noticed a device that had been newly exposed due to recent rainfall washing away the topsoil. Instead of playing or tampering with the device, as is frequently observed among children, the two boys immediately notified the local community, who alerted demining teams, such that the area could be marked and cleared.

Ta’izz continues to see highest proportion of civilian sniper casualties
Largely in line with the previous two months, another five civilian sniper casualties were reported in April. Four sniper casualties were reported in each of February and March. Four of the five civilian sniper casualties reported in April were reported in Ta’izz, which has now seen 17 (81%) of the 21 civilian sniper casualties reported countrywide so far this year. It remains unclear as to why Ta’izz continues to see such a high proportion of sniper casualties, but is likely linked to the proximity of active frontlines to densely populated civilian residential areas. Throughout 2022, 56 of the 79 civilian sniper casualties reported countrywide were in Ta’izz. One child and one woman were among the past month’s sniper casualties.

Mass casualty shelling incident, and critical civilian services, including two health facilities, a school and a mosque, impacted by frontline hostilities
The frontlines have been largely quiet over the past month, coinciding with Ramadan, Eid, and reports of progress on the political front, including the biggest prisoner exchange seen since the start of the current conflict. Nonetheless, there were continued reports of exchanges of artillery fire between the warring parties in the frontline areas, and intermittent drone activity also persisted. Away from the Sa’dah border violence, the highest civilian shelling casualty count was reported in Ta’izz, where on 22 April, three civilians were killed, including a woman and a 12-year-old child, and another nine were injured, when shellfire hit houses in Mawza district. At least seven shelling incidents were also reported to have impacted civilians in Ta’izz city, primarily in the west, in Al-Mudhaffar district, where a mosque was hit by artillery fire, along with four reports of civilian homes coming under fire. Civilian services were also impacted in Hudaydah, where shellfire hit near a school in eastern Hays, damaging the facility and injuring a child who was also nearby at the time. Also in Hays, a 12-year-old boy was killed when drone strikes hit a medical unit. A medical centre was also hit by drone strikes in Qa’atabah district, in Dali’.

Civilian casualties as a result of Sa’dah border violence decrease
64 civilian casualties were reported as a result of Sa’dah border violence in April 2023, which is the lowest monthly casualty count seen in the border area this year, down from 87 last month. Of the 64 casualties reported, 38 were as a result of cross-border shellfire hitting Shada’a district, and another 18 were the result of border shootings in Monabbih district. Despite the overall decrease, further mass casualty incidents were reported, including in the Ar Raqw flashpoint in Monabbih district, where on 11 April, two civilians were killed, including a woman and 10 civilians were injured in a border patrol shooting. Three of the casualties were reportedly migrants. So far in 2023, 358 civilian casualties have been reported along the Sa’dah border with Saudi Arabia, including 51 fatalities. This is already almost equal to the 2022 annual total, of 373 civilian casualties in the border areas. However, reports of civilian casualties on the border typically dip in the summer months, following annual seasonal fluctuations. Nonetheless, further casualties are likely on the border in the coming weeks, albeit at a slower pace.

For more detailed or area-specific assessments, please reach out to the CIMP team directly via the address below.