CIMP Monthly Report - November 2022

November sees highest number of civilian casualties since July

Although the number of incidents of armed violence reported to have directly impacted civilians has been decreasing each month since July, the resultant civilian casualties have been increasing. 157 civilian casualties were reported in Yemen in November 2022, up from 130 in October, and the highest since July. 40 fatalities were among the casualties, also the highest since July. Contrary to typical patterns, Ma’rib saw the highest casualty numbers in the country over the past month, at 43, the highest since January. This was followed by 34 casualties reported in Hudaydah, the highest since May. For the sixth consecutive month, landmines and UXO were collectively responsible for the highest proportion of civilian casualties. The number of children among the casualties increased by 42%, driven primarily by ERW incidents, while the number of women casualties increased threefold, up to 24, the highest since May, driven by a combination of ERW incidents and shooting incidents. The November numbers for both women and children casualties were over a third higher than the monthly average numbers of children and women casualties throughout 2021.

Hudaydah sees highest civilian ERW casualties for fifth consecutive month

Explosive remnants of warfare (ERW) were responsible for 47 civilian casualties in Yemen in November, including 31 landmine casualties and 16 UXO casualties. For the fifth consecutive month, Hudaydah saw more civilian ERW casualties than any other governorate, at 28. So far in 2022, there has only been one month during which Hudaydah did not see the highest ERW casualty numbers, in June, when it was superseded by Sa’dah. ERW incidents are reported on the west coast on a weekly basis, predominantly focused in the active and recently-active frontline areas on the outskirts of Hudaydah city and to the south. At Tuhayat district has seen 46 civilian ERW casualties this year, followed by 38 in Hays. On the city’s outskirts, Al-Hali and Al-Hawak districts have collectively seen 63 civilian ERW casualties to date in 2022, and just south, 33 and 32 civilian ERW casualties have been reported in Ad Durayhimi and Bayt Al-Faqih, respectively. The remaining ERW casualties in November were for the most part distributed across other frontline governorates, including Ma’rib and Jawf, Bayda and Ta’izz.

More than half of the child casualties reported in November were on account of ERW

The number of child casualties reported over the past month increased to 47, up 42% from 33 child casualties in October, and the highest in one month since July, when 60 child casualties were reported. More than half (24) of the child casualties reported in November were on account of ERW. Children remain particularly vulnerable to ERW incidents, most notably UXO incidents. Of 16 UXO casualties reported in November, nine were children. So far in 2022, 178 civilian UXO casualties have been reported, 101 (57%) have been children. Their heightened vulnerability is likely driven by a number of factors, such as increased mobility, including in areas that may not yet have been cleared of ERW, such as while playing, tending to livestock or collecting firewood, coupled with heightened inquisitiveness and compounded by a lack of threat awareness, making them more likely to tamper or play with unfamiliar devices. Of the 28 civilian ERW casualties reported in Hudaydah, over two thirds (19) were children.

Weapons store explosion results in mass civilian casualties in Ma’rib city

Since the countrywide truce commenced on 2 April, and also during the unofficial truce seen since the official truce expired in early October, the frontlines in Ma’rib have been quiet, seeing only sporadic reports of shellfire and occasional skirmishes. The civilian impact of frontline hostilities has resultantly dropped off. Nonetheless, the governorate remains vulnerable to bouts of violence, and across the country, the single incident to see the highest civilian casualty numbers over the past month was in Ma’rib city. On 7 November, a fire broke out at a weapons store on a military site in the city, sparking a number of explosions at the facility and sending projectiles of shrapnel and munition misfires into nearby neighbourhoods, including Al-Jufaynah IDP site. Four civilians were killed as a result, including two children, while another 23 civilians were injured. The shrapnel was also said to have hit water tanks on the IDP site, threatening a critical source of water for the site’s inhabitants. The governorate saw further civilian casualties in a counter-terrorism drone strike on 30 November, when one civilian was killed and five civilians, including two children and two women, were injured when drone strikes hit houses in Al-Hadba area in Ma’rib district. The strikes reportedly prompted munitions stored in the houses to detonate, which subsequently injured another two civilian first responders to the incident. Both incidents highlight the risks of weaponry being stored in proximity to civilian residential areas. This threat was similarly seen when a weapons store next to an arms market in Lawdar city, Abyan, detonated in July, killing six civilians and injuring another 37.

Escalation in Ta’izz and Lahij drives increase in civilian shelling casualties

Shellfire was responsible for the second highest number of civilian casualties in Yemen in November, after ERW. 37 civilian shelling casualties were reported, marking the highest since July, and the second highest since the countrywide truce commenced on 2 April. The number was driven in large part by renewed hostilities on the border between Ta’izz and Lahij at the beginning of the month. The two governorates together accounted for 27 of the past month’s shelling casualties. Of note, in northern Lahij, on 11 November, at least five civilians were killed, and nine others were injured when artillery shells hit houses in Qadash to the north of Kirsh in Al-Qabbaytah. The incident contributed to the highest civilian casualty numbers reported in one month in Lahij so far this year. Across the governorate border, in As Silw district in southern Ta’izz, two separate shelling incidents on 2 and 3 November resulted in another six civilian casualties. The western frontlines in Ta’izz also saw further civilian shelling casualties. On 5 November, one woman was killed, and three children were injured when artillery shells hit houses in Al-Majaishah of Maqbanah district, highlighting also the vulnerability of women and children when domestic spaces are impacted by armed violence.

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