CIMP Monthly Report - November 2023

Overall civilian casualty numbers decrease, but child casualties almost double
Armed violence was directly responsible for 100 civilian casualties in Yemen in November 2023, down 19% from the 124 civilian casualties reported in October, and the third lowest monthly casualty count seen this year. The November casualties bring the 2023 total casualty count to date to 1,573. The number of fatalities among the casualties also decreased, down to 31 from 37 in October. The number of children among the casualties, however, saw a leap, almost doubling from 14 in October to 27 in November. Women casualties were largely unchanged, decreasing slightly from 14 to 13.

Sa’dah border sees more civilian casualties than anywhere else in the country
For the fourth consecutive month, Sa’dah saw the highest civilian casualty count, with 23 civilian casualties reported, all but two of whom were the result of border violence in western Sa’dah. Although this was higher than any other governorate, it marks a 50% decrease from the 46 civilian casualties reported in the governorate in October. 12 of the casualties were the result of light weapons fire shootings on account of border outpost and/or patrol shootings, including 10 in Monabbih district. Another nine of the civilian casualties in Sa’dah were the result of shellfire, all in Shada’a district, accounting for three quarters of the countrywide shelling casualties in October. In total, shellfire was responsible for 12 civilian casualties in November 2023, the lowest monthly civilian shelling casualty count seen since June 2022. The remaining two casualties were the result of a landmine blast in As Safra.

Dali’ saw its highest monthly civilian count since June 2022
12 civilian casualties were reported in Dali’ over the past month, fourfold the average of three civilian casualties reported in the governorate on a monthly basis during the first ten months of the year, and the highest monthly casualty count reported in Dali’ since June 2022, and prior to that, August 2021. 11 of the reported casualties were the result of a drone strike, accounting for all but one of the 12 civilian drone casualties reported countrywide in November. This also marks highest civilian drone casualty count reported in one month since November 2022. In this month’s incident, on 1 November, a six-year-old boy was killed and 10 civilians were injured, including eight boys aged between 6 and 14 years old, when drone strikes hit Hammam An Nubayjah, near a school in Bilad Al Yubi in Qa’atabah district. The incident also accounted for a third of the 27 child casualties reported countrywide in November.

Civilian casualty numbers in Ta’izz drop to lowest monthly total since December 2019
There was a significant reduction in the number of civilian casualties reported in Ta’izz in November, down to five, having seen 22 civilian casualties in October. Typically seeing a relatively high number of civilian casualties on account of frontline hostilities, explosive remnants of warfare (ERW) and localised shootings, this is the lowest monthly civilian casualty count to have been reported in the governorate since December 2019. Three of the past month’s casualties were the result of landmine blasts in Al-Mukha and Hayfan districts, killing one person and injuring another two. Another civilian was killed in the crossfire of clashes that broke out when an altercation between two armed factions escalated, in Maqbanah district. A child was also killed by sniper fire in Sabir Al-Mawadim district. Last month, five sniper casualties were reported across Ta’izz. Of 45 civilian sniper casualties reported countrywide in Yemen this year, 38 have been in Ta’izz, including 12 in Sabir Al-Mawadim. Almost half (16) of the Ta’izz sniper casualties have been children.

30 civilians were killed and injured by small arms fire in November 2023
For the fifth time this year, small arms fire (SAF) was responsible for the highest civilian casualty count across the country, compared to all other types of armed violence, accounting for 30 civilian casualties, and marking a 50% increase from the 20 civilian SAF casualties reported in October. 14 shooting incidents were reported, driven by a range of factors, including three family disputes, three instances of civilians being caught in the crossfire of localised clashes between armed factions, two checkpoint shootings, and one accidental shooting. In the deadliest incident, on 12 November, three civilians were shot dead and two civilians, including a woman, were injured following a family dispute in Ad Darb in Dhamar City. The 374 civilian SAF casualties reported in 2023 have now surpassed the 369 reported throughout 2022. Moreover, SAF has been responsible for more fatalities this year than any other type of armed violence, accounting for 179 fatalities, followed by 131 ERW fatalities.

Civilian ERW casualties almost double from October to November
Explosive remnants of warfare, including landmines and UXO, were responsible for 27 civilian casualties over the past month, the second highest casualty count in the country by type of armed violence, and almost double the 14 civilian ERW casualties reported in October. 41% of the casualties (11) were children. Hudaydah saw a third of the past month’s ERW casualties, almost half of whom were children. ERW incidents in Hudaydah were reported in the typical flashpoints, including two incidents in At Tuhayat, which has seen more ERW casualties than any other district in Yemen this year, two incidents in Bayt Al-Faqih, two on the outskirts of Hudaydah city, and one in Ad Durayhimi. Beyond Hudaydah, another two incidents were reported in each of Jawf, Bayda and Ta’izz, and one in Sa’dah. In the incident to see the highest casualties, on 29 November, two children were killed and three civilians were injured, including a woman and two children, all from the same family, when a UXO exploded inside a house in Al-Fayah in Khab wa Ash Shaaf district, Jawf, having been brought in by one of the children. UXO has seen more child casualties than any other type of armed violence this year, at 80, accounting for 61% of all UXO casualties, followed by landmines, which have been responsible for 62 child casualties this year.
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