Civilian casualties see significant increase
despite the ceasefire
Despite the sustained ceasefire, the number of civilian casualties saw an increase from April to May 2022, rising by 61% from 109 to 176. Within this, the number of civilians reported to have sustained injuries as a result of armed violence almost doubled, from 64 to 125, while civilian fatalities increased 13%, from 45 to 51. Despite the increase, in the two months after the ceasefire entered into force, civilian casualties decreased by 38% compared to the same time period beforehand, down to 275 from 446.
Mass casualty IED incident in Aden results in 50 civilian casualties
On 26 May, five civilians were killed, including a child, and as many as 45 civilians were injured in an IED explosion at a busy market in Ash Shaikh Outhman district, in Aden. The incident was responsible for over a quarter of the May civilian casualty count. It also brought the May explosive remnants of warfare (ERW) casualty count up to 90, up from 37 in April, and the highest civilian ERW casualty count reported in one month since CIMP started monitoring at the start of 2018. In the two months before the ceasefire entered into force, 82 civilian ERW casualties were reported, and in the two months after, driven in part by the Aden incident, 124 civilian ERW casualties were reported. Another 24 ERW casualties were reported in Hudaydah, 19 of whom were on account of landmines.
Shooting incidents responsible for second highest number of civilian casualties
After ERW, small arms fire (SAF) was responsible for the highest number of civilian casualties in May, at 35, 26 of whom were the result of dispute-driven violence, mainly on account of escalating family and financial disputes. The remaining nine casualties were the result of isolated shooting incidents, the cause of which was unclear. In the incident to see the highest number of casualties, on 8 May, four civilians were shot dead and two were injured in southern Hudaydah, all from the same family, following a family dispute over inheritance issues. April saw 50 civilian SAF casualties, the majority of whom were reported in the south of the country, where tensions over service provision, economy depreciation, commodity prices and salary payments continue to drive insecurity. In May, by contrast, the majority of SAF casualties were
reported in the north of the country; Ibb saw more civilian SAF casualties than any other governorate during May, at nine, against a backdrop of continued insecurity, following by seven in Amran and six in Hudaydah.
No civilian infrastructure was impacted by armed violence in May 2022
For the first month since CIMP commenced reporting at the start of 2018, no incidents of armed violence were reported to have directly impacted civilian infrastructure in Yemen during May 2022. Incidents impacting infrastructure have seen a significant reduction since the ceasefire commenced, with April seeing three reports of mosques being impacted, but no other infrastructural sites or services impacted. Prior to 2 April, the most
impacted form of infrastructure were telecommunications towers, which were hit by airstrikes 28 times from January to March, predominantly across Sa’dah and Dhamar. The first three months of the year also saw ten instances of education facilities being impacted by armed violence, and another ten instances of health facilities being impacted, both predominantly as a result of airstrikes, which have seen a complete cessation since the ceasefire entered into force.
Child casualties almost double from May to April, while women casualties almost triple
The number of child casualties almost doubled compared to the previous month, rising from 10 to 19. Among these, eight were on account of explosive remnants of warfare, including six
casualties as a result of landmine explosions, half of whom were fatalities, two injuries as a result of UXO explosions, and one fatality as a result of the mass casualty IED incident in Aden. Throughout April, all child casualties were the result of ERW. However, this month, the cause of child casualties diversified, with five children killed and injured in instances of remote violence, including shelling and drone strikes in frontline areas, and another five killed and injured in shooting incidents, including a sniper incident. Meanwhile, the number of women casualties increased almost threefold, from 9 in April to 26 in May. Ten of the women casualties were the result of shellfire hitting civilian homes in Ta'izz and Hudaydah, and another eight were the result of dispute-driven shooting incidents.
Remote violence in frontline areas picked up in May
33 civilian casualties were reported in frontline areas as a result of shelling, almost half of whom (15) were reported in Ta’izz, where hostilities have persisted at a low rate, predominantly on the western frontlines in Maqbanah district, as well as along the frontlines in Ta’izz city. Another ten civilian shelling casualties were reported in Hudaydah, in a single incident on the frontlines in Jabal Ras district, while another three civilians were killed and three injured when debris from an aircraft shot down by a missile hit a busy junction in Al-Wahdah district in Sana’a city. This marks a notable uptick from April, when 12 civilian shelling casualties were reported. Although the number of civilian casualties increased, the number of houses reported to have been impacted by shellfire and drone incidents saw a slight decrease, from 145
to 139.
For more detailed or area-specific assessments, please reach out to the CIMP team via the address below.
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