Armed violence resulted in a reported 665 civilian casualties during the first month of 2022
665 civilian casualties were reported as a result of armed violence during January 2022, the highest monthly
casualty count recorded by CIMP since August 2018. This is also almost double the 358 civilian casualties reported in December 2021, which was the highest casualty count seen in one month last year. 234 civilian fatalities were among the casualties, also the highest toll since August 2018.
January 2022 saw a significant uptick in civilian airstrike casualties
Of the 665 civilian casualties reported in January 2022, 421 were the result of airstrikes, the majority of whom (78%) were in one mass casualty incident in Sa’dah. On 21 January, at least 91 people were killed and 236 were injured when airstrikes hit a detention centre on the outskirts of Sa’dah city in the early hours of the morning, demolishing the facility. The prison allegedly held at least 2,000 people, many of them reportedly migrants. The incident saw the highest single-incident civilian casualty count on CIMP records.
Airstrikes on telecommunications infrastructure resulted in a country-wide internet outage
There was a proliferation in airstrikes on the country throughout January 2022, with 120 reports of airstrikes hitting civilian property and infrastructure, including 62 on civilian houses, 24 of which also hit nearby farmland, and 21 incidents impacting telecommunications infrastructure across northern governorates. On the evening of 20 January, air raids hit a telecommunications hub in Hudaydah city that serves as the sole internet intake facility across the entire country, putting the whole country into a four-day nationwide internet blackout. Sana’a city continues to come under frequent airstrikes, including in close proximity to key telecommunications infrastructure and residential areas.
Shelling killed and injured over 100 civilians in January
2022
40 civilians were killed and another 75 injured amid shellfire during January 2022, totalling 115 civilian casualties, the highest seen since October 2021. With fighting ongoing along the Ma’rib frontlines, Ma’rib city remains at risk of missile fire, and on 26 January, five civilians were killed and 34 civilians were injured when missiles hit a residential area in the vicinity of Ma’rib airport, accounting for 39 of the 43 civilian shelling casualties reported in the governorate. As hostilities picked up on the northern border of Shabwah, another 40 civilian shellfire casualties were reported in Usaylan, Ain and Bayhan districts.
Landmines were responsible for 46 civilian casualties in the first month of 2022
Landmines were responsible for 46 civilian casualties in 2022, the third highest civilian casualty count by type of armed violence. This is also more than double the 2021 monthly average of 21 civilian landmine casualties. Almost half, 22, were reported in Hudaydah, where shifting frontlines in November resulted in the heightened mobility of civilians, including renewed displacement from new frontline areas, and returning IDPs to former frontline areas. Since November 2021, Hudaydah has seen an increase in reports of civilian landmine casualties.
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