CIMP Monthly Report - September 2023

September saw the second lowest civilian casualty count on CIMP records
Coinciding with a renewal of peace talks, hostility levels and corresponding civilian casualties declined in September, down to 91, decreasing by 31% from 131 in August. 28 civilian fatalities were among the casualties. This marks the second lowest monthly casualty count and lowest monthly fatality count on CIMP records. Moreover, the number of child casualties reported nearly halved from the previous month, down to 18 from 32. Small arms fire (SAF) was responsible for the highest civilian casualty numbers, at 26, followed by 23 landmine and UXO casualties, but on a governorate-by-governorate basis, Sa’dah saw the highest casualty numbers, at 31.

Over a third of the past month’s casualties were reported in Sa’dah
Armed violence was responsible for 31 civilian casualties in Sa’dah throughout September 2023, over a third of the 91 civilian casualties reported countrywide. 25 of the casualties were the result of border violence in western Sa’dah, where Shada’a and Monabbih districts continued to see near-daily reports of artillery fire and border outpost shootings. Nine casualties were reported in Shada’a district, including three fatalities, and another nine civilians were injured in Monabbih district. Al-Thabit area in Qatabir district also saw an uptick in reports of casualties as a result of border violence, seeing six casualties, at least half of whom were migrants, who form a large proportion of the civilian casualties in western Sa’dah. A number of houses were also hit by shellfire in Razih district, threatening further displacement, although no additional casualties were reported. The remaining six casualties were the result of localised violence in As Safra district. On 1 September, a child was killed and two other children and three women were injured when artillery shells hit a house in Al-Lujbah during a security campaign in the area.

More than half of the civilian ERW casualties reported in September were children
Explosive remnants of warfare (ERW), including landmines and UXO, were responsible for 23 civilian casualties over the past week, down just one from the 24 ERW casualties reported throughout August. Moreover, more than half (12) of the casualties were children, up from 11 child ERW casualties in August. Seven fatalities were among the ERW casualties, although none were children. As has been typical since late 2021, when frontlines shifted south in Hudaydah making former frontline areas accessible to civilians and returning IDPs, the majority of ERW casualties over the past month were reported on the west coast. In the incident to see the highest casualty numbers, on 12 September, a 60-year-old man was killed and four civilians, including his wife and two children, were injured when a UXO exploded inside a house in Az Zuhur neighbourhood in the eastern outskirts of Hudaydah city, after one of the children brought the device into the house, unaware of the threat it posed. One of the children’s legs was amputated as a result of the injuries sustained.

The remaining eight ERW casualties were reported in Bayda, another governorate to see relatively high contamination levels. On 21 September, a group of children found a remnant munition, but while playing with the UXO and attempting to move it, the device exploded, injuring five children, including one child who lost a hand and an eye in the blast. Children are particularly vulnerable to ERW incidents, particularly UXO incidents, due to heightened mobility in less well-trodden areas that may not yet have been cleared, coupled with heightened inquisitiveness and lower threat awareness. ERW has been responsible for 271 civilian casualties in Yemen so far this year, almost half of whom (126) have been children. Moreover, among these, of the 120 UXO casualties, 71 (59%) have been children.

Localised grievances continue to drive shootings, resulting in the highest civilian casualty numbers
Small arms fire (SAF) shootings were responsible for 26 civilian casualties during September 2023, more than any other type of armed violence, despite being a slight decrease form the 31 SAF casualties reported the month before. Half of the casualties were reported in Abyan, where on 5 September, three civilians were killed and seven others were injured in the crossfire of clashes that broke out between two armed factions near Tariq roundabout in Zingibar city following a dispute. This is the second time this year a shooting incident has resulted in such a high casualty count; in May, two civilians were shot dead and eight others were injured in a vengeance dispute in Habban district in neighbouring Shabwa governorate. Disputes can be particularly incendiary in the south of the country, where tensions are exacerbated by economic strains and a weak law and order. Zingibar saw further SAF casualties towards the end of the month, on 22 September, when one civilian was shot dead and two others were injured in a shooting near the qat market. There have been at least 15 shootings in and near marketplaces this year.
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