Civilian casualties increase from August to September. There was an 18% increase in civilian casualties from August to September 2022, rising from 114 to 135. Among the casualties, the number of fatalities increased slightly from 35 to 37. Conversely, the number of child casualties reported dropped slightly, from 25 to 23, and the number of women casualties dropped from 13 to nine. Explosive remnants of warfare, including UXO and landmines, were responsible for over a third of the casualties, at 53. For the second consecutive month, Hudaydah saw more civilian casualties than any other governorate, with 33, followed by 30 in Sa’dah.
Explosive remnants of war (ERW) result in highest civilian casualty numbers in the country for fourth consecutive month. 53 civilian casualties were reported as a result of landmines and UXO throughout September 2022, marking an increase from the 42 ERW casualties reported in the country in August, but well below the July total of 69. For four consecutive months, landmines and UXO have together been responsible for the highest civilian casualty numbers in the country. 467 civilians have been killed or injured by landmines and UXO so far this year, already 38% higher than the 338 civilian ERW casualties reported throughout 2021. Of the 53 civilian landmine and UXO casualties reported in September, 29 were reported in Hudaydah, more than in all other governorates combined, as the west coast continues to see the highest ERW casualty rates in the country. Almost half of the ERW casualties in Hudaydah (14) were reported in Bayt Al-Faqih
district, due in large part to a mass casualty UXO incident on 10 September, when 10 children were injured when a UXO exploded while they were playing in Al-Jah area. Children are particularly vulnerable to the UXO threat, due a lack of awareness of the threat, and a higher propensity to tamper with unfamiliar devices.
Border violence in Sa’dah results in mass casualty shelling incident. Sa’dah saw the second highest number of casualties in the country in September 2022, at 30, a 36% increase from the 22 civilian casualties reported in the governorate in August. For the past three months, shellfire has been the biggest driver of civilian casualties in the governorate, on account of cross-border artillery fire in the west, predominantly in
Shada’a and Razih. Prior to the truce, Monabbih was also a hotspot for civilian casualties as a result of border violence, although numbers have been significantly lower in recent months. Artillery was responsible for 22 civilian casualties in Sa’dah in September 2022, all in Shada’a district; this is the highest number of civilian shelling casualties to be reported in the governorate in one month since before truce. All were reported in one incident on 8 September, when four qat smugglers were killed and 18 others injured when artillery shells hit the border areas. The western border of Sa’dah is host to informal trade networks that span the border, as well as informal migratory routes, and those attempting border crossings and in settlements particularly close to the border are at the highest risk of harm. Of the 408 civilian shelling casualties reported in Yemen so far in 2022, almost half, 176, have been reported in Sa’dah.
Civilian bystanders sustaining injuries as IED incidents target security vehicles. IED blasts were responsible for 17 civilian casualties in Yemen in September 2022. The highest since January, save for one mass casualty incident in Aden in May. The casualties were on account of two separate incidents, in Ta’izz and Shabwah. On 25 September, an IED detonated near a checkpoint at the entrance of At Turbah city, southern Ta’izz, killing one civilian and injuring 11 others. Earlier in the month, on 10 September, five civilians were injured when an IED exploded in the eastern outskirts of Ataq city, the Shabwah governorate capital. Both devices had been targeting security vehicles, but injured civilians in the vicinity. Against a backdrop of unrest, IED blasts
continue to characterise the security landscape around the country. This is particularly the case in areas where there are lingering tensions between local factions, including in southern governorates, where Shabwah recently saw widespread fighting break out between rival forces, and a campaign to target the VEO threat in neighbouring Abyan has also been characterised by a number of IED attacks. Nonetheless, although incident numbers are rising in Abyan and Shabwah, casualty numbers remain higher in Ta’izz, which has already seen 29 civilian IED casualties this year, more than double the 13 reported last year. The Ta’izz numbers are superseded only by Aden, which has seen 59 civilian IED casualties this year, due in large part to a mass casualty IED blast in a marketplace in May.
For more detailed or area-specific assessments, please reach out to the CIMP team via the address below.
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