Republic of Yemen

Human Rights Office - Marib

THE MURDER OFCHILDHOOD

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood
Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorate
During the Period from October 1, 2014, to December 31, 2021

THE MURDER OFCHILDHOOD

HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICEMARIB GOVERNORATETHE MURDER OFCHILDHOOD
A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes
and Violations in Marib Governorate During the Period
from October 1, 2014, to December 31, 2021

CHILDHOOD

THE MURDER OF

Content

Chapter one:
Overview of Marib Governorateo Introduction

Report Methodology
The legal framework
Executive Summary
Chapter Two:

Killings and injuries

Direct targeting by missile projectiles
planting mines

Kidnapping and enforced disappearance
Recruitment of children
Denial of education

Denial of health care
The suffering of displacement and Forced
migration
Prevention and Obstruction of food aid
Recommendations

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THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorate

An overview ofMarib Governorate
Marib city is located at a distance of 173 kilometers insoutheast of the capital of Yemen (Sana›a). The populationof this governorate includes 1.2% of the Republic of
Yemen population, according to the population census in
2004. The number of Marib›s districts is 14, distributed
over (20,023) square kilometers is the total area of thegovernorate. Marib boarders Al-Jawf governorate on thenorth, Shabwa & Hadramout from the east, Al-Bayda &Shabwa from the south, and Sana›a from the west.
Marib Governorate is one of the most monumentsrich provinces in archaeological monuments, such as
historical monuments ( the Dam of old Marib city –Awam
and Baraan temples).
The province has been attacked since 2014 by Houthi
militias of various types of weapons, so it continues todefend and confront Houthi aggression on different

fighting fronts.
Nearly 3 million displaced people from Houthi-controlledareas have flocked to Marib Governorate in search of adecent life, stability, and a safe place, which they foundin Marib, which embraced the people of Yemen from allgovernorates. The governorate is experiencing economic
recovery and prosperity in infrastructure and expansion
in the construction and development process. It considers
a model for the presence of the Yemeni state and its
various organs and institutions that operate according
to the directions of the state, its legitimate head, andthe internationally recognized government. The Houthi
group›s hatred has doubled in targeting the governorate
continuously. Due to that targeting, there were hundredsof civilian casualties, including women and children.

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5

Introduction
Childhood in Yemen has been subjectedto the worst kinds of violations since the
Iranian-backed Houthi militia took control byforce of arms of the country and its militaryand civil institutions. It used children inits various military actions and recruitedunderage people in flagrant violation of allinternational covenants and conventions thatstress the prevention of child recruitment
and considers those involved in crimes
against children war criminals.
The Houthi group is deliberately preventing
and restricting the access of food aid andmaterials that are indispensable to theirsurvival, and the Houthi militia’s continuationof indiscriminate attacks and firing rockets atcivilians contributes to increasing suffering,food insecurity and access to aid, treatments
and basic materials that sustain their

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lives, but the Houthi militias continue to Its
military escalation in Marib, which portends
humanitarian disasters against children.
Al-Houthi’s crimes and continue recruitmentof children have not stopped in all Yemeni
geography. The killing operations against
civilians, including children, continue withballistic missiles, weapons, and heavy
artillery, in addition to killing them withmines and explosive devices that they plant
everywhere these criminal militias reach.
There are hundreds of children subjected topermanent and partial injuries and disabilities
due to the targeting by Houthi militias on
populated areas and displacement camps.
All those crimes do not fall under a statuteof limitations.
Children are the most vulnerable groupin society and need care and protection,

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorateespecially in areas and conditions witnessing
armed conflict. In Yemen, the Houthi militia hascontinued its grave violations against children.
According to United Nations organizations, 2million children are out of school in Yemen, as
reported by UNICEF.
The Houthi group is targeting the children›s
minds in schools and filling them with wrong anddestructive ideas and instilling concepts callingfor violence, murder, and racial discrimination.
It distorted and changed the school curricula inaccordance with its sectarian beliefs rejected by
the Yemeni people, in violation of the Constitutionof the Republic of Yemen and the republicansystem, and It runs counter to international laws
criminalizing discrimination between country
citizens and the right to equality.
The Houthi group practiced Murder and forced
abduction of children, in addition to they took thechildren hostage and blackmailed their parents
into paying money. Children were also affectedin Houthi-controlled areas due to the loss of theirparents by killing, kidnapping, or displacement.
Children bear the responsibility to search forsources of livelihood for the family, Which exposes

them to many risks, including dropping out ofschool to face the burdens and difficulties of life.
The Houthi militia’s crimes against civilians in
the Marib governorate increased during 2021
and it targeted the southern districts with various
missiles and weapons, which caused the forced
displacement of more than 100,000 people, mostof them were children who lost their schools,
homes, and toys. Furthermore, they live in deserts
and IDPs camps that lack the basic need of food,shelter, health care, and education in a cold,
winter climate, and Tragedy and pain have doubled
when their parents are unable to provide for theirchildren. As well as the limited presence and roleof the United Nations, international organizations,and organizations concerned with children’s
rights in meeting the urgent needs of civilians,
children and women.
In this report (The Murder of childhood), wehighlight the violations and crimes that have been
affected children due to due to the war that the
Houthi terrorist militia has continued in the Maribgovernorate for seven years.

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REPORT METHODOLOGY
In this report, the Monitoring and Documentation Team relied on several procedures underinternationally recognized standards through the investigations conducted by the team, theevidence obtained the statements of victims and their relatives, the testimonies of witnesses
and paramedic medical staff, reports of military experts, photos and videos. in addition to
medical reports and statements of officials in the governorate health office and hospitals
responsible.

THE LEGAL FRAMEWORKThe Republic of Yemen has ratified many international treaties and covenants that provide forthe protection of civilians and childhood such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
international humanitarian law, the four Geneva Conventions, and the protocols thereto, which
represents the International legitimacy.Yemen has also ratified the International Convention
on the Rights of the Child and the protocols attached to it, and the conventions criminalizing
the laying of mines and other international conventions that protect civilians, and all parties
are obligated to implement the conventions, including armed groups and militias outside thescope of the state.

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THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorate

International Convention on the Rights of the ChildThe Geneva Declaration of 1924 is considered thefirst conceptual development of children›s rights.
It was drawn up by the International Federation of
Save the Children Fund between 19221923/ andadopted by the League of Nations in September
1924. This declaration is considered the first
document at the international level that gives a setof rights to the child as a child. And it was statedthat «humanity owes the child the best rights andguarantees that can be granted to him.» It is takenfrom this declaration that it was not issued on behalfof the member states of the League of Nations.
After the establishment of the United Nations,specifically in 1948, the «Universal Declaration of
Human Rights» was issued, and this declaration is
the first international codification of human rights,
which is comprehensive, and gave more rights tothe child.
In addition to the texts that granted the childrights and protection as an individual like all otherindividuals, the Declaration singled out the childwith texts regulating his rights in particular.
In 1959, the United Nations General Assembly
unanimously issued the declaration of child›s rights,
which consists of ten basic principles related to therights of the child and its protection from torture,
cruelty, neglect, and all forms of racial and religious
discrimination.
The issuance of Additional Protocols I and II in 1977
attached to the four Geneva Conventions aimed at
protecting the rights of civilians and preserving theirlives, freedoms, and property, including children,
In addition, the Convention on the Rights of the Childissued in 1989 is considered the most importantinternational convention and treaties that affirm
the right of childhood to life, away from all forms of
racial, ethnic, and religious discrimination, and its
protection from all forms of exploitation.
Article 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Childdefines a child as “every human being under the ageof eighteen unless the age of majority is attained
earlier under the law applicable to him.”

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Targeting of Civilians
The rules of international humanitarian law
prohibit attacks on civilians, The Contracting
Parties are obligated to take appropriate
measures to keep civilians from being
affected by military operations. This is notedin the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to
the Protection of Civilian Persons in War›s
Time of 1949, which recognizes generalprotection for children as civilians nottaking part in hostilities. It also recognizes
them with special protection contained in
at least seventeen articles, and since thetwo protocols of 1977 and the Additional
to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 are an
expression of the important progress madein international humanitarian law, they givechildren special and increased protection
against the effects of hostilities.

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Article 13, Part IV of the Second Additional
Appendix (Protocol) 1977 to the Geneva
Conventions of August 12, 1949, relating to
the protection of victims of non-internationalarmed conflicts states the following:
1.

2.

3.

The civilian population and individual
civilians shall enjoy general protection
against the dangers arising frommilitary give effect to this protection, thefollowing rules shall be observed in all
circumstances.
Neither the population nor civilian
persons shall be the object of attack
and acts or threats of violence shall be
prohibited.

civilians were protected «unless and forsuch time as they take a direct part in the
hostilities»

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib GovernorateRecruitment of Child
The phenomenon of child recruitment
represents a major legal problem. After theInternational Committee of the Red Cross
saw that the Geneva Conventions of 1949
fall short of addressing the problem of child
combatants, it strived to find a decisive legal
solution to this dilemma, which eventuallyculminated in the adoption of the two
Optional Protocols issued in 1977, which
They unequivocally affirmed the complete
prohibition of the participation of children inarmed conflict.
When looking at the prohibition of therecruitment of children in the light of
the Second Additional Protocol of 1977,
considering that the armed conflict in Yemen
is an internal (non-international) armed
conflict in accordance with the provisionsof international humanitarian law, we findthat Article (4), paragraph (c) of the Protocolcame to confirm that This prohibition, as
it stipulates that “children under the ageof fifteen shall not be recruited into armed
forces or groups, nor shall they be permitted
to participate in hostilities.
In May 2000, the United Nations General
Assembly adopted the Optional Protocol to
the Convention on the Rights of the Child on
the involvement of children in armed conflict.
This protocol is considered one of the mostimportant texts that ensured the protectionof the right of children from being forced toparticipate in armed conflicts.
It is also the culmination of the efforts that

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were made throughout the 1990s to raise theminimum age of a child prohibited from being
recruited from fifteen to eighteen years.

The protocol included some important
provisions, in particular determining theage of compulsory recruitment, voluntary
or voluntary recruitment, as well as dealing
with the issue of the recruitment of children
into armed groups distinct from the armed
forces of the state. armed forces of any State
under any circumstances by recruiting or
using persons under the age of eighteen in
hostilities.
“States Parties shall take all feasible
measures to prevent such recruitment anduse, including adopting the necessary legal
measures to prohibit and criminalize suchpractices.”••“The Court shall have jurisdiction in
respect of war crimes, in particular when
they are committed as part of a plan or
public policy or as part of a widespreadcommission of such crimes for the
purpose of this Statute, meaning war
crimes.”
The recruitment of children isa serious violation of the laws andcustoms applicable to armed conflictsof a non-international character, within
the established scope of internationallaw, represented by the compulsory or
voluntary recruitment of children under
the age of fifteen years into the armed
forces or armed groups, or their use toactively participate in hostilities.

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal
Court also addressed this prohibition andconsidered the recruitment of children a war
crime, as it stipulated in Article (8) under the
War Crimes Clause the following:

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A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorate

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe Statistics monitored by the Human Rights
Office in the Marib Governorate indicate acontinuous increase in violations againstchildren as a result of the military escalation
practiced by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia
in the Marib governorate, which primarily
affected children, as the suffering, tragedies
and displacement waves expand and confrontballistic missiles, booby-trapped planes,
mines and explosives. improvised explosive
devices and depriving them of health care andthe right to education in flagrant violation ofinternational laws.
Figures verified by the Human Rights Officein Marib reveal that 1,028 children were killed
and injured in the Marib governorate during
the period included in the report. The total
number of killed children were (296) in thegovernorate,147 of them were killed by mines,
and 149 children were killed by Houthi missiles
and projectiles. There were 732 children
injured, (311) of them injured by mines, and(421) were injured by the missiles and rockets

that the Houthi coup militia targeted residential
neighborhoods and populated areas.

Since the beginning of 2015 and until December
31, 2021, the report records that the Houthi
coup militia launched 356 ballistic missiles on
the western, southern, northern and central
regions of Marib, which fell on civilians andchildren in residential, rural and agriculturalareas, including (91) ballistic missiles in theyear 2021.
The report shows that the Houthi coup militia,
which took control of areas in the MaribGovernorate, has recruited 1,748 children andpushed them to the battlefronts, including
124 children who were killed, and 529 ofthem were injured, who were killed or injured
while fighting alongside the Houthis. There
are still (472) children on the frontlines are
participating in military operations. The report
recorded also (323) children whose fate is
unknown.
The report reveals that the Houthi coup militia
kidnapped 148 children from its areas of

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13

control during the reporting period, and whenmost of them were released, 45 children are
still detained in Houthi prisons and detention
centers.

The report also clarifies that the systematictargeting of the educational process in
Houthi-controlled areas is still continuing,in addition to the indiscriminate bombing
and occupation and control of educational
institutions. Military use, and this targeting
led to the total destruction of (21) educational
facilities and the partial destruction of (78)schools and educational facilities, and 35
educational schools were used for military
operations, training and weapons storage,
while educational facilities were stormed andlooted and are still occupied and used by amilitia Al-Houthi terrorist organization in (61)schools and educational facilities.
This led to the deprivation of (54,875)
boys and girls from basic education. when
(10,496) children returned to school after
other alternatives were available whether in

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THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

displacement camps or host communities, thegap is still very large between children who
have enrolled in school and those who are still
deprived of continuing their education due
to the Houthi wars that are being waged on anumber of areas in Marib Governorate.

The total number of medical and healthfacilities bombardment reached (105), where
the total targeting of medical facilities thatwere completely destroyed reached (16), andwhich were partially destroyed (32), and thenumber of facilities used by Houthi militias intheir military operations such as mobilization,
storage and training (14) A medical and healthfacility, and the number of 43 raids and looting,where international law describes targeting
medical and health facilities among the grave
violations against children, which is what the
Houthi militias do on an ongoing basis.
Because of the waves of displacement due toindiscriminate and missile attacks (106,926)
boys and girls have been affected by theabsence of medical and health care in the

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorate

Marib Governorate, especially the districts
that witnessed armed confrontations due tothe Houthi militia.

According to the statistics, malnutritiondiseases are expanding among children due
to the Houthi siege, while ignoring medical
warnings and appeals to save the lives of(46389) children due to malnutrition, andtheir lives may be exposed to great dangers
due to the military escalation and the firing of
missiles at civilians and the continued influxof displaced people.
The waves of displacement have been
increasing in the districts of the Maribgovernorate, especially since the beginningof the year 2020, as the Houthi militia targetedwestern and southern villages and districts
with various heavy weapons, which led to thedisplacement of thousands of families andleft their homes, their source of livelihood,and the schools of their children in search of
security and stability. These attacks doubled
in the southern districts of the governorate
during 2021. Which resulted in the largest
forced displacement at the level of Yemen,

where the numbers reached 100,000 forcibly
displaced during the last five months ofthe year 2021, as the largest displacement
process in the history of Yemen within ashort period, in a crime that thousands offamilies and tens of thousands of children
were subjected to, who lack the minimum
basic needs for survival.

The report monitored a number of(920,718)
forcibly
displacedchildrenduring the reporting period, whether forced
displacement and displacement from othergovernorates to Marib governorate or forced
displacement within the governorate’s
districts, who were widely affected as aresult of the siege and starvation operations
imposed by the Houthi group on civilians
in the districts targeted by the attacks.
randomness, such as the unjust siege in the
Abdiya district of the Marib governorate.

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Chapter Two:

D I R E C T
MURDERAND MISSILE
PROJECTILESFIRST: KILLING
AND INJURIES
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The continuous attacks launched by the
Houthi coup militia since the beginning of 2015
until now on separate areas in the north, west
and south of Marib governorate have resulted
in the death of many children, and international
humanitarian law prohibits indiscriminate

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorateattacks that do not distinguish between civilian objects
and military targets, considering that every attack is
not directed at a target. A specific military attack or an
attack expected to cause loss of civilian life or injury or
damage to civilian objects is a prohibited indiscriminate
attack (4,5) of Article (51) of Additional Protocol I to the
Geneva Conventions of 1949.
The articles of this law give special protection tochildren as civilians in addition to being among thevulnerable groups, and the articles of the Second
Additional Protocol to the four Geneva Conventions,
Articles (51,52,57) require that more care be taken by
the Department of Military Operations to avoid targeting
civilians and civilian objects and to take all possible
precautions When choosing the means and methods ofattack in order to avoid causing loss of civilian life, injury
or damage to civilian objects, and attacks are limited tomilitary objectives whose targeting achieves a militaryadvantage.

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17

Rocket attacks by the Houthi coup militia targeted
residential neighborhoods and popular markets In
addition to schools and public parks, which havekilled and injured thousands of civilian victims in
the Marib Governorate. There were 149 children
killed, 421 were injured and 119 were permanently
disabled.Graph showing the numbers of people
killed, injured and permanently

Killing and injuries

killedinjuredTotal of Killings and Injuries

Missile projectiles

Landmines and improvised.explosive devices

Graph showing the numbers ofpeople killed and injured

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Facts of the incident
THE MURDER CASE OF THE
CHILD LIANS MURDER CASE

On Saturday, June 5, 2021, at ten-thirty
in the morning, the heinous and incendiarycrime committed with missile projectiles
and a booby-trapped plane by the Houthi
group at a fuel station in the Al-Rawda
district in Marib governorate led to thedeath and burn of 21 civilians as a result of
the fire in the gas station. One of them is thegirl, Lian Taher Ayed with two years and twomonths old whose body was charred while
she was in the lap of her father, who wascharred, in a scene that shames humanity, in
addition to the injury of five civilians, in ahorrific crime and horrific amounts to war
crimes and crimes against humanity.

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorate

Ahmed says, «I received the news of thedeath of my brother Taher and his daughter,the child Lian, at exactly one in theafternoon I was in the Al-Abr area at workon the bus. Their bodies were charred and
I was shocked by the horror of the painful
scene that I saw. I did not comprehend what
my eyes saw. Then I went to the pharmacy
and bought medicine for my mother, mybrother’s wife, and my sister, because of
the terrible condition and shock due to theincident and the criminality committed by
the Houthi criminal militia from launching
missiles and booby-trapped planes on
civilians and children, because of which I
was exposed Layan’s mother, my mother,and my sisters suffer from a psychologicaland sick crisis that they still suffer fromtoday.”

were in the car. The father and daughter
each embrace the other. A painful scene
I have never seen in my life. The hands,
legs, and body parts were falling due to thehuge fire they exposed to the smoke wasstill coming out of The nose, ear, and bodyof the victim, Taher and his daughter Lian,
who hugged and embraced her during the
explosion of the missile that fell on the gas
station in the Shabwani neighborhood, andmoments later, the Houthis shot down abooby-trapped plane that injured a numberof our colleagues in the ambulance crew,
and the ambulance that was transporting
the victims and the wounded was also
damaged.

He says: I took the child Lian and herfather, they completely burnt while they

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THE MURDER CASE OF THE CHILD
MOHAMED NASSER AL-ATHRIOn September 15, 2021, the 12-year-old child, Mohammed Nasser Ali Al-Athari, from AlAbdiya district killed by a member of Houthi while he was browsing his mobile phone infront of his house in a brutal and barbaric manner. That reflects The hidden hatred of theseterrorist Houthi militias towards children. This event happened After Houthi militia entered
the district about a month of siege and starvation and the use of various weapons against
civilians.

)M.Q.A.) with 40 years old reports that on September 15, 2021, a member of the Houthi
militia killed the child Mohammed Nasser Ali Al-Athari while he was leaving the house witha mobile phone in his hand. He was taken to the hospital, but he passed away.

THE MURDER OF THE CHILDHASHID SAEED AL-HAMID

On December 5, 2021, the 7-year-old child Hashed Saeed Al-Hamid was killed and thechild Abdul-Majid Ali Balghith was seriously injured and transferred to the intensive careand his condition is serious, in the Mathoud village - Al-Abdiya district due to the missile
launched by the Houthi militia on populated areas, civilians and children in the that place
during Houthi militia siege.

On December 5, 2021, the Houthi militia launched five ballistic missiles at populated areas

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A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorate

in the Marib governorate, and they fell north and east of the city, causing massive explosions,and damaging homes and shops. In contact with a military expert to ascertain the type of
missile projectiles, he stated that they are ballistic missiles, For the Protection Organization
for Civil Orientation, the missiles hit two children in the densely populated Al-Matar area.
According to the organization’s documentation, the 14-year-old child Malik Ahmed Saeed
said that he fell to the ground from the force of the explosion caused by the missile and was
subsequently taken to the hospital, and a girl from the same neighborhood was injured byshrapnel in the lower limbs.

THE INCIDENT CASE OF BOMBING AL-RAWDARESIDENTIAL AREA, 20 CHILDREN KILLED AND INJURED.

On October 3, 2021, the Houthi militia fired 3 ballistic missiles, one of which fell near the
Al-Mail camp for the displaced, and the other two missiles fell in the residential area of AlRawda, destroying 25 homes and killing and wounding 38 civilians, most of them womenand children.
)A.S.) 40 years old , reports: «We were in our homes, and we were surprised by an explosion
near us. The windows fell, smoke and dust filled the place. We rushed to the scene of thebombing. The second missile fell in the yard of the next house, the Faisal Al-Bariq›s houseof turned into a pile of scattered stones. We hear the victims shouting Under the rubble,
we pulled the bodies out, We were surprised that a baby with five months (Ghazal) was
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21

bombed and we pulled her out without a head. We also pulled out her motherand sisters, in a horrifying and horrific scene.
In this incident, 20 children were killed and wounded, including three children,and 17 children sustained various injuries:
No.

Name

Age

1

Ghazlan Faisal Ahmed

5

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

22

Raddad Faisal Ahmed
Ryan Yahya Ali
Aref Ali Abdo Al-Uqbi
Abdul Majeed Abdullah Muhammed
Nasser Omair admires Al-Salahi
Naseem Mohammed Hassan Al-Khudri
Sam Mohammed Hassan Al-Khudri
Hamas Mohammed Hassan Al-Khudri
Ismail Ahmed Masoud Al-Bariq
Faisal Ahmed Masoud Al-Bariq
Nabil Hassan Qaid
Hassan Hussein Saleh Qassem
Osama Muhammed Hussain Al-Khudri
Moaz Abdullah Yahya Wahhab
Khalil Abdullah Yahya Wathab
Safa Abdullah Yahya Wathab

Siham Suhail Mohammed Salman Al Shamiri

Areej Hamed Al-Amed
Amani Ahmed Yahya Tali

THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

10
13
12
14
12
10
15
13
10
12
8
10
10
12
8
5
8
16
5

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorate

sddsViolation
Type
Killing
Killing
Killing
InjuryInjuryInjuryInjuryInjuryInjuryinjuryinjuryinjuryinjuryinjuryinjuryinjuryinjuryinjuryinjuryinjuryTHE INCIDENT CASE OF BOMBING
THE MAZARA AREA IN RAHBA.

On the date of September 1, 2021, the Houthis were intensively and indiscriminately firing
missiles and various weapons at the Mazara area and at the villages in the Rahba district,which were populated by civilians, and the child Suleiman Mihdhar Mohsen Al-Ajdab, 5years old, was injured in the Mazara area - Rahba district, who was injured by shrapnel in thehead and face.

(A.W.Q) reported that «during the Houthi militia’s attack on Rahba district, they werebombing houses with various missiles, missiles and heavy weapons in the villages andcountryside. A mortar shell landed near the house of Al-Ajrab and the shrapnel flew in all
directions. The child Suleiman Mithhar Al-Ajrab was injured by shrapnel in the face andhead».

THE INCIDENT CASE OF BOMBINGSHERYAN KHUDAIR›S HOUSE.

A Houthi missile fell on the house of Sheryan Saleh Khudair in Al-Rawda neighborhood in
the city of Marib on February 5, 2020, killing and wounding (5) people.

Sharyan Khudair (the head of the family) reported that he was at his home with his children
on Wednesday evening, February 5, 2020, when a Houthi missile landed on their house in AlTHE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

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23

Rawdah, killing his wife on the spot, in addition to
injuring his three children, witness Ali Hammoud
Ahmed (55 years old). The neighbor of the victims- he says, I was in my house among my ignorantchildren (my children) and we were having dinner,and I heard a strong explosion that put pressure
on the windows, and then my children werescreaming and they were lying on the ground, andwe thought that the missile had fallen in our house
because of the smoke and dust that filled the place
and the strong sound of the blazing (explosion),
And he added, «At the same time, I could hear thevoice of our neighbor, Sheryan Khudair, shouting(screaming) ‹Oh, Gartah,› so we went out towards
him, and people gathered.
Names and ages of the affected children
1.
2.
3.

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THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

Asim Shrian Saleh Khudair (15 years old (Ayat Shrian Saleh Khudair (13 years old

Aya Sheryan Saleh Khudair (7 years old).

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorate

THE INCIDENT CASE OF BOMBING OF THE
HOUSE OF THE PARLIAMENTARIAN AL-SAWADI
A Houthi missile fell on the house ofparliamentarian Hussein Hussein Al-Sawadi
in Al-Rawda area, Marib city on January 22,
2020, killing and wounding (8) people.
Anwar Hussain Al-Sawadi (43 years old)reported that the Houthis fired a missile
believed to be ballistic at their house in AlRawda neighborhood, which is inhabited byabout (35) people from his brothers, sisters
and their children, killing two children anda woman and wounding (5) other people,
including his daughter. He says that while
he was playing with his daughter Amal He
lost consciousness and did not know that a
missile had hit their house until he was in thehospital when he regained consciousness.
Hamid Muhammad Ali Al-Darwish (40 years
old), the Witness of the incident case ,said

I was in our house and my children werearound me, and we heard a loud explosion,
which caused panic and terror for thechildren, so I went out of the house andsaw dust and smoke rising from the houseof Hussain Al-Sawadi. So we went to savepeople, but a woman and two girls died, in
addition to one girl injured.
Names of the killed children
1.
2.

Rania Saddam Hussein Al-Sawadi (13years old(
Dua’a Massad Hussain Al-Sawadi (4years old(

The names of the injured children
1.

Amal Anwar Hussein Al-Sawadi (7years old).
THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

During the Period from October 1, 2014, to December 31, 2021

25

THE INCIDENT CASE OF BOMBING OF THE
KAMP AL-ZERA›A IN AL-RAWDAH AREA
The fall of a Houthi missile on the yardof the Agriculture Camp in Al-Rawdah on
Tuesday 5 July / 2016, (8) children killedand (12) people wounded.

Mohammed Abdo Mahyoub (45 years)
reported that he was outside his house andhis children were playing near his house.
He wanted to go out to the market. Whenhe reached the agricultural camp gate, heheard a loud explosion that he had not heard
before. He says:» I saw a mass of smoke anddust and went back towards the place of the
explosion, which He fell near my house andfound two of my children cut to pieces - hestopped speaking while he was crying.. .»Eyad Saleh Ahmed (35 years old) said:» I

26

THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

was walking by bus in the yard, right of thecamp (courtyard), and when I arrived in the
middle of the courtyard, a Houthi missile
fell, causing a very big explosion near me
and among a number of children who wereplaying, some of whom were sitting next tohis house, and the shrapnel of the missile had
flown in every direction. Dust and smoke
filled the place, adding that the missile killed
8 children and injured more than ten people,
most of them children».
Names of the killed children
1.
2.

Youssef Abdel-Wahhab Mohammed
Moqbel (8 years old(Mohammed Abdel Wahhab Mohamed
Moqbel (10 years old(

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorate

3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

IbrahimMahyoub

MuhammadAbdo(5 years old(

Ayman Hamid Qassem Mazkour (5years old(

Saleh Abdullah Saleh Al-Ahmadi(15 years old(

Jalal Qaid Muhammad Dammaj (10years old(
Bader Saleh Saleh Mahdi (8 years
old(Abeer Muhammad Abdo Mahyoub(8 years old(

Names of the injured
1.

Ammar Qassem Muhammad Seif
(10 years old(

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Shaima Qaid Muhammad Dammaj(13 years old(
Yara Sami Muhammad Al-Hajeb (1year(

Muhammad Amir Ghaleb Sharaf(16 years old(
Abdul Majeed Mansour Ahmed AlAmri (12 years old(
Nasir Muhammad Farhan (15 years
old(Rimas Sami Muhammad Al-Hajeb(7 years old(
Ammar Yasser Abdullah Al-Sabri (4years).

THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

During the Period from October 1, 2014, to December 31, 2021

27

A BOMBING INCIDENT CASE NEAR AL
SHAHEED MOHAMED HAYEL SCHOOLOn Monday, December 28, 2015, a
Katyusha shell landed near the Martyr
Muhammad Hayel School for Girls in thecity of Ma’rib, killing a girl and injuring hersister.

A relative of the victims (A.M.A.) reportsthat on a school day, after the students left
the school, the Houthis fired a Katyusha
missile that landed in the outer wall of the
AL-Shaheed Mohammed Hayel School for
Girls. This led to the death of the child, Nada
Nabil, after she smashed her head from therocket fragments. In addition, her sister
Zainab was seriously injured.

Yahya al-Sawari the Witness of the incident
and he is a journalist too , said that at

28

THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

approximately 5:30 p.m. on Monday, when
he was near the Garden Street, he heard thesound of a strong explosion and headed
towards the sound of the explosion, and if
a missile had fallen on the wall (yard wall)of the Martyr Muhammad Hael School for
Girls, al-Swari added, «I filmed the scene. It
was shocking to me when I saw the child,
Nada Al-Awadi, who was in pieces, and hersister - Zainab - beside her, crying and crying.
Names of the child victims:
1.
2.

Nada Nabil Muhammad Al-Awadi (10years) - killed -.
Zainab Nabil Muhammad Al-Awadi (8years), injured.

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorate

AL-RAWDA AREA BOMBING
INCIDENT APRIL 3, 2020.
On Saturday, April 3, 2020, a random
missile landed in Al-Rawda area, north of thecity of Marib, killing a child and wounding(4) children.
Saleh Al-Haddad - the victim›s father - (55years) reported that he and his children liveat the Al-Sad Junction and that his son Abdul
Salam went to visit his uncle who lives in thekindergarten, and when they were playing
in the street, a missile fell near them, killing
him and wounding other children. Witness
Muhammad Ali Naji (28 years), says that the
Houthis, who are stationed in Jabal Hilan
and al-Makhdara, northwest of Marib, fireda missile, killing the child Abdul Salam al-

Haddad and wounding four other children
who were playing with Abd al-Salam.
Names of the child victims:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Abd al-Salam Saleh Ali al-Haddad (12years), killed.

Hussain Mohammed Nasser Al-Haddad(9 years), injured.
Moaz Mohammed Naji Al-Badani (15years old), injured.
Hassan Muammar Mohammed Shaye(7 years old), injured.

Saif Ali Mohammed Al-Ayachi (11years old), injured.
THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

During the Period from October 1, 2014, to December 31, 2021

29

2.Murderingwith minesand explosives
Landmines come in two forms: antipersonnel mines and anti-vehicle mines. These
mines have caused disasters and tragedies overthe past decades.

Anti-personnel mines are prohibited under
the Convention on the Prohibition of theUse, Stockpiling, Production, Transfer and
Destruction of Those Mines (or the Ottawa
Convention), which was adopted in 1997 andmore than 150 countries have acceded to it,
including Yemen.

This global interest in this Convention stems
from the effects on mine victims of deep
health, humanitarian and social crises in all

30

THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

places where they are used, in addition to thefact that civilians are the most victims of mines,
especially children and women.

In the second article of the Ottawa Convention(definitions) it reveals that anti-personnel
mines are a mine designed to explode by thepresence of a person, close to him, or touching
him, and that leads to paralysis, wounding or
killing one or more persons.

‫ القتل واالصابات‬: ‫أو ًال‬Our field teams have noticed that the
Houthis are laying mines extensively andindiscriminately, causing the killing andmaiming of civilians, impairing the lives ofcivilians and the access of humanitarian aid,

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorateand preventing the return of safe civilians totheir homes.

The militia plants many types and different
forms of mines, some of which are manufactured
abroad and others are manufactured andmodernized at home, and these planted mines
may be anti-personnel and anti-vehicle mines,
and in many cases these (anti-vehicle) minesthat do not explode are converted Except
by trampling a heavy mass on it to individual
mines, through pedals that are connected tolight wires and placing these wires in a specificplace of the mine, and as soon as the lightest
mass passes on these pedals, these mines
explode, leaving many victims.
Thousands of various mines have been plantedby the Houthi coup militia in agricultural andresidential areas, and despite great efforts
made by the engineering teams of the National
Army and the Masam team of the King Salman
Center to extract tens of thousands of thesemines, however, the militias’ continued control
over vast areas of Marib Governorate It makes
it dangerous to continue planting mines andexplosive devices.

Since the Houthi coup against legitimacy
until the end of December 2021, mines in
the Marib governorate have claimed hundredsof civilian casualties, including 147 children;
In addition to the injury of (311) children, allof them worked in sheep herding, or wereaccompanied by their parents to farms, schools
and markets.

THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

During the Period from October 1, 2014, to December 31, 2021

31

:Facts of the incident
Thursday, May 19, 2016.

On Thursday, May 19, 2016, a landmine
exploded in the Major district, north of Marib,
killed 3 girls and wounded two.

Saeed Hassan Ayed (60 years old) said thatthey live in the Halhlan area in the Majzar
district, north of the city of Marib. He reportsthat the Houthis took control of their area, andafter the Houthis withdrew, their daughters(the girls) went to graze the sheep, and while
he and some of his family were at home, they
heard an explosion, and they headed towards
the explosion. If a mine exploded, the girls led
To the killing of my daughter Rawiya and thedaughter of my two sons, Maha Muhammad,in addition to Asmaa Ali Naji, and Hasna andher sister, Hasina Saeed Al-Bakhiti, were
injured. Witness Nasser Mubarak (56 years)

32

THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

says that he was in his house when he heard amine explosion, and after arriving at the place
where the mine exploded, he found three girls
who were killed by the mine, in addition to
wounding two girls.
Names of the dead children:

1.
2.
3.

Asmaa Ali Naji Ayed (12 years old).

Rawiya Saeed Hassan Al-Bakhiti (8 years
old).

Maha Muhammad Saeed Hassan Al-Bakhiti(9 years old).

The names of the injured
1.
2.

Hasna Saeed Saleh Al-Bakhiti (15 years
old(Hasina Saeed Saleh Al-Bakhiti (12 years
old(

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorate

Monday , July 2, 2018

On July 2, 2018, an individual mine plantedby the Houthi coup militia exploded in a
massacre, killing a girl and wounding hersister.

Ammar Yahya Mushatar (22 years)
reported that Maryam and her sister Amina
went to graze sheep in the morning, andone day they were late to return home, sothey went to look for them and found thata landmine had exploded in them, killing
Amina and wounding Mary, who theyfound unconscious, Ammar adds that thisarea was Houthi forces controlled it andplanted mines before they withdrew fromit.

Nasir Muhammad Shamlan (27 years)
was a witness of the incident , «said thatthe Houthi coup militia planted dozens
of mines in the area, which claimed thelives of many civilians, including the girl
Maryam, who went with her sister to graze
sheep in the Al-Kola area of a massacre,
and an individual mine exploded in them,killing Maryam and injuring her sister
Amna».
The names of the child victims
1.
2.

Amna Yahya Abdullah Mushatar (15years old) – killed
Maryam Yahya Abdullah Mushatar (12years old), injured

THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

During the Period from October 1, 2014, to December 31, 2021

33

Monday, January 8, 2018.

On January 8, 2018, a mine exploded in
the Al-Hani area in Madghal , killed achild and wounded two children.

Sinan Saleh al-Ramah, 47, says that they
are displaced in Marib, and his father
lives in the Al-Hani area .He went withhis children to visit his father, while they
were there, the children went to graze
sheep with their grandfather’s children,
and a mine that the Houthi coup militia
had planted before they withdrew fromthe same area in 2016

Mardi Thabet Abdo Al-Ansi (21 years) a
witness of the incident case said that he
was at a funeral in the Al-Hani area and34

THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

heard an explosion, so he and those who
were next to him went to the directionof the explosion and found that a mine
exploded with children, killing the child
Hamir Sinan and wounding both Abdel
Wahab Al Ramah and Omar Saleh Al
Ramah.
The names of the victims› children
1.
2.
3.

Hamir Sinan Saleh Al-Ramah (13years old) – killed

Abd al-Wahhab Sinan Saleh al-Ramah(12 years old) – injured
Omar Saleh Ali Al-Ramah (12 years
old) – injured

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorate

Monday ,July 13,2020.

On Monday, 72020/13/, a landmine
planted by the Houthis exploded in
the Shejan area in the Mahlia district,southwest of Marib, injuring two people,
including a girl.
The Taqiah›s uncle, Ali Dhaifallah alNahmi (26 years), confirmed that the she
was accompanied by her grandmother,
Masada Ali Hussein, to fetch water on theback of a donkey. When they were near
the water supply in Shadeb, a landmine
planted by the Houthi militia explodedin the same area, seriously wounding
the elderly woman, Masada, and the girl,
Taqiah, and they were transferred to thecity of Marib for treatment.

The witness (A.A.A.) confirms that the
Houthi militia had planted a mine in thearea, and this mine exploded, injuring awoman named Masada and the injury of
the little girl, Taqiah Abd Rabbo.
Child Victim Data:
1.

Taqieh Abd Rabbo Dhaifallah Abdullah(7 years old) – injured.

THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

During the Period from October 1, 2014, to December 31, 2021

35

Friday, October 9, 2015

On Friday, October 9, 2015, a landmine
planted by the Houthi coup militia in AlMenin in the Marib city district killed
three people, including a girl, and injured
her sister.

Saleh Musleh Qutaish (60 years old)reports that the Houthi coup militia
took control of the Al-Maneen area atthe beginning of the year 2015 AD to
be displaced from their homes due tothe war imposed by the militia, addingthat the National Army and the Popular
Resistance in early October of the year
2015 AD liberated the area, which led
to their return to their home, stressingthat they When they entered the house,a mine planted in the house, planted

36

THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

by the Houthi coup militia, exploded,
killing his elderly wife, his son, Munif
Saleh, and his sister, Salha, in addition
to seriously wounding the girl, Hanoud
Saleh. Witness Ali Al-Bukiri (45 years
old) says that on Friday morning, during
the return of the displaced to their homes
in Al-Meneen, Saleh Musleh Al-Qutaish
returned to his house with his wife andchildren. Salha Qutaish, in addition totheir mother, and the girl, Hind Qutaish,
was injured.
The names of the child victims

1.
2.

Salha Saleh Musleh Fatini Qutaish (10 years) - (murdered(Hanoud Saleh Musleh Fatini Qutish (12 years old) - (injured)

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorate

SECOND:
ABDUCTIONSAND ENFORCED
DISAPPEARANCES

According to the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights, to which Yemen
is a state party, no one may be deprived of his
liberty except for reasons stipulated by law andin accordance with the procedure establishedtherein, and whoever is arrested must be
informed at the time of arrest of the reasonsfor his arrest and immediately notified of any
accusations against him, Persons accused of
criminal offenses are promptly brought before ajudge or official authorized by law to exercise
judicial functions, and he shall have the rightto be tried within a reasonable time or to bereleased.
International law prohibits arbitrary arrest anddetention, and according to the UN Working
Group on Arbitrary Detention, detention isconsidered arbitrary if the authorities do notpresent any valid legal basis to justify thedeprivation of liberty.
Our field the teams verified the kidnappingof (148) children who were kidnapped by
the Houthi coup militia. The kidnappings areconcentrated in the Harib, Majzar, Rahba, Sirwah
and Badbadbah districts.
THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

During the Period from October 1, 2014, to December 31, 2021

37

Facts of the incident
The first case :••Child: (A.A.S.) 14 years oldChild: (A.H.S.) 15 years old

On Wednesday, May 19, 2021, the Houthis,who control Mahalia, kidnapped four people,
including two children.

(S.S.) 55 years old, reported that the
Houthis, who control Mahalia, havekidnapped four people, including two
children. He added that the reasons for the
kidnapping, as justified by the Houthis, aredue to a picture posted on social media of the
Houthi leader, Muhammad Al-Bakhiti, who
visited Mahlia and entered one of the sites,
and after Publishing that photo, the victims
were accused, pointing out that Houthi
soldiers came from the Directorate›s Security38

THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

Department and took them and they are stilldetained so far The witness (M.T) said thatthe victim (A.S.A.) and the victim (A.H.S.)
have not exceeded the age of sixteen andthey are still young, adding that the victims
were transferred shortly from Mahlia to an
unknown destination.
Second Case:•

Ahmed Mohamed Mubarak (13 years
old)

On Sunday, June 15, 2015, The Houthis
abducted the child Ahmed Mohammed
Mubarak Al-Abdali and hid him. Muhammad
Ali Ahmad (25 years) reports that Ahmad
was on his way to his father in Marib. when
he arrived in Al-Faw area, he was stopped
by a military point where the Houthis wereA human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governoratestationed 5 months. Witness Nasser Mubarak(45 years old) says that the Houthis kidnapped
the child Ahmed, then they hid transferred him
to Serwah .Finally they released him throughtribal mediation.
Third case:•

Nooraldeen Ali Abdullah Al-Saeedi (13years old(

On Tuesday, February 23, 2016, the child
Nour El-Din disappeared and two months later
they found him in a Houthi detention center in
Majzar.
Abdul Rahman added that when the National
Army forces liberated the Majzar district, theyfound kidnappers in the Safra site after it wasliberated from the control of the putschists.
The child, Nour Al-Din Ali Al-Saidi, was among
those kidnapped. For more than a month in a
Houthi military site in Safra, he added that the
Houthis made the child Nur al-Din and the restof the kidnapped human shields.

Fourth Case:•

The child Ma›in Muhammad Ali Al-Haimi(15 years old(

Abdullah Ali (42 years old) reports that thechild Ma›in Muhammad Ali Al-Haimi is fromthe Badbadbah district, and that his brotherwas a soldier with the Houthis, and his brotherwas promoted to become a field commanderwith the militias in the battles in Sarwah,
and they gave him a kit (pickup) - used by
the fighters to transport the soldiers and topenetrate the land The opponent - Abdullah
adds that the child›s brother was killed in theconfrontations, and after the killing of his
sister, the militias kidnapped the child withthe aim of forcing his family to hand over thecar. The witness, Abbad Mohsen, 38, said thatthe Houthi coup militia had kidnapped thechild Ma›in, who had been kidnapped by themin the Jahana area for more than three months.
THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

During the Period from October 1, 2014, to December 31, 2021

39

Houthi militias use schools, educational
incubators and summer centers toinculcate concepts that advocate andincite to fighting and joining the camps,
and then push them to the fronts.

THIRD: THE
RECRUITMENT
OF CHILDREN
40

THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

The two additional protocols to the
Geneva Convention of 1977, whichattempted to address these situations, had
stipulated the prohibition of recruiting
children under the age of fifteen or
engaging them in hostilities. According tointernational law, «children under the ageof 15 must not be recruited into the armed
forces.» (Protocol I, Article 772- and theConvention on the Rights of the Child,
Article 383-).
Rule 136 of the ICRC study on customaryinternational humanitarian law provides
that it is not permissible in internationaland non-international armed conflicts«children shall not be recruited into

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governoratearmed forces or armed groups. The use of thephrase “shall not” creates an obligation on
the armed forces, i.e. on the regular armed
forces and organized armed groups, and the
Additional Protocols require that parties toa conflict take “all feasible measures” notto recruit child soldiers. In addition, Rule137 of the International Committee of the
Red Cross study on customary international
humanitarian law states that “children shallnot be permitted to take part in hostilities.”

The Rome Statute (1998) defines therecruitment and use of children under theage of fifteen in hostilities as a war crime,
and the Rome Statute considers war crimes
as international crimes.
The Yemeni Child Protection Law, Article
45 of 2002, emphasizes that children are
not directly involved in the war, and thatno one under the age of eighteen should be
recruited.

The emergence of this crime dates backto the six wars that took place between
the Yemeni army forces and the Houthis
in Sada›a governorate between 2004 and2009, when Houthi militias were recruiting
dozens of children and throwing them into
the fighting fronts, and the years following
the Houthi coup against state institutions
witnessed a remarkable expansion of these
The phenomenon, especially among the
Houthi militia.
The Houthi militia is recruiting andmobilizing thousands of children, using
the culture of murder and terrorism, andexploiting the difficult economic conditions
that the country is experiencing due to thewar ignited by the militias. According to thenumbers and statistics collected by our fieldteams, most of the children fighting in the
Houthi ranks are those who have dropped
out of school and from poor families, and
THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

During the Period from October 1, 2014, to December 31, 2021

41the militias lure the children and give thempromises to give them salaries and provide
them with weapons and ammunition.

The Houthi coup militia takes advantageof the summer centers to which it mobilizes
students and public schools in order to plant
their ideas and beliefs and then mobilize andrecruit them and provide them with cultural andother military training courses to train children
on some weapons for a very short period toplunge them into the fighting fronts.

reveal the killing of (124) of these child soldiersand the injury of (529) of these child soldiers.
And those who are still on the fronts working in
training, fighting and other military actions, are(472) children, and the report recorded (323)children, whose fate is unknown.

Recruitment violations

killing

Our field teams monitored (1748) children
from Marib, who were recruited by the Houthi
coup militia from its areas of control and plunged
into the fighting fronts, and these numbers

42

THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorate

injuries

Still on the front
unknown fate

DiagramFacts of the incident
The first case :•Mansour Abdullah MujahidNaji (14 years old(

Salman Saif Naji (29 years old)reported that the Houthis recruited thechild Mansour Abdullah after deceiving
him, and subjected him to sectarian
training and mobilization courses.
They threw him into the fighting fronts
in Sirwah, which led to his death inApril 2015. He was killed
while fighting alongside the Houthis.
The second case :•Mohammd Dhaif Allah Ahmad

Al-Tayyara (13 years old(

Mubarak Saleh (38 years old)reported that the Houthis deceived thechild, Muhammad Dhaif Allah Ahmed,
and lured him into their ranks and gave
him a number of sectarian courses.
They recruited the child and he wasparticipating with them on the fronts
until he was killed on August 10, 2020.
Witness Salah Ahmed Nasser (31 years
old) says that the child Muhammad
Dhaif Allah was killed with the
Houthis on one of the fighting fronts
in Mahalia, and he is participating with
the Houthis in their battles, and his age
THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

During the Period from October 1, 2014, to December 31, 2021

43

is approximately (13 years old).
The third case :•Mohammed Salih Mohammed AlSaqqaf (14 years old(

Ahmed Saleh Al-Saqqaf (49 years)
reported that the Houthis in the areas they
control from Marib are recruiting children
and making them as fuel for their battles.
He adds that the child, Muhammad Saleh
Al-Saqqaf, was no more than 14 years
old when the Houthis recruited him in
Wadi Habbab, Sarwah, using the methodof persuasion to convince him. They
promised him a monthly stipend and a
Kalashnikov rifle, so that he would bekilled in one of the battles.

44

THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

Hassan Nasser Saleh, the witness of theincident case, explained that the child,
Mohammed Saleh Al-Saqqaf, was killed
on September 21, 2020, while he wasfighting with the Houthis.
The fourth case :Suleiman Mubarak Jabal Al-Aqra(16 years old(

(Y.N.A) 39 years old, reported that thechild Suleiman Mubarak left school dueto the occupation of schools and thedisruption of the educational process in
the region by the Houthi coup militia.
A salary and a weapon, then the childjoined them in the fighting and was killed
on one of the fronts in Marib. Witness

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorate

Hamza Amer (25 years old) saysthat the child Suleiman Al-Aqra
went with the Houthis after being
deceived and subjected to a numberof combat and cultural courses, thento be killed in the confrontations
while fighting with the Houthis.
The fifth case : Child:
Ahmed Ali Amer Al Hamjri (15 years old(

(H.S.A.) reports that the child
Ahmed Ali Amer left school andwent with the Houthis after they
promised him to enlist. He attended
a number of sectarian and combat

courses that the Houthis teach to
children who were deceived, andhe added that he was fighting intheir ranks until he was seriously
wounded. He is still suffering fromit until now.

The witness Ali Saleh Amer (40years old) said that the child Ahmed
Ali Amer is from the sons of Serwah
and was deceived by the Houthi
coup militias to fight in their ranks,
and adds that he still suffers from his
disability after he was injured with
the Houthis.

THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

During the Period from October 1, 2014, to December 31, 2021

45

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
adopted in 1948 states in its article 26:«Everyone has the right to education.».

FOURTH: THE
DEPRIVED OF
EDUCATION
46

THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

Since then, the right to education has
been widely recognized and has also beendeveloped through a number of international
normative instruments drawn up by theUnited Nations that set out the obligations
that states are binding upon when they ratify
them, including the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and theConvention on the Rights of the Child. and the
UNESCO Convention against Discriminationin Education.
The universality of the right to education
was reaffirmed in other treaties covering
specific groups such as women and children,
persons with disabilities, migrants, refugees,
and indigenous people and persons who may
face other forms of discrimination. The rightA human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorate

to education is also integrated into many
regional treaties and dedicated as a right inthe vast majority of national constitutions.
International humanitarian law - which
regulates the conduct of Parties in armed
conflict - also includes provisions on theright to education, protecting students,
educational and educational facilities fromdirect targeting or making them a military
target.
The fourth Geneva Conventions and theirAdditional Protocols contain the protectionof civilians and civilian objects, including
schools, teachers, and students, it is basedon the “principle of difference,” meaningthat there is an essential difference between
civilians and military and between civilian
and military objectives in civil conflict,children receive an education - including
education Religious and moral - consistent

with the religious and moral beliefs of theirparents or guardians (Article 4, Additional
Protocol 2).

Article 28 of the Convention on the Rightsof the Child enshrines the right of every childto education .Basic education shall be freeand secondary and higher education shall beavailable. Children shall be encouraged toattend school to obtain the highest possiblelevel of education, and schools shall respect
the rights of children. And not to practiceviolence in any form.
Article 29 also states that «Education
obtained by children should help develop
their personalities talents and abilities,
and should teach them their rights, respect
the rights of others, their cultures anddifferences, live in peace and protect theenvironment.”

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47

The Houthi coup militia has recently
taken control of Sirwah, Majzar and parts ofMadghal, in addition to Mahlia, Rahba, Hariband Abdiya. This makes them military targets,
furthermore they empty these educational
institutions from carrying out their role, thus
making children deprived of their right toeducation.

The schools and educational facilities
on the corresponding side are also at risk
either by direct targeting rockets, random ortargeted missiles which often result in civilian
casualties, especially children, or by restricting
workers in these educational institutions,
whether by arbitrary arrest, torture, andenforced disappearance when they move fromtheir home governorates. to their work areas
in Marib.
The figures monitored by the office reveal48

THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

that the Houthi coup militia targeted (195)
educational facilities in the Marib governorate
by bombing, bombing, looting, intrusion, or
military use. This targeting led to the complete
destruction of (21) educational facilities andthe partial destruction of (78). A school and an
educational facility, (35) educational schools
were used for military operations, training andweapons storage, while educational facilities
were stormed and looted, and (61) schools andeducational facilities are still used in military
operations.

This systematic targeting of educational
institutions in Marib deprived (54,875) maleand female students. And when (10,496)
male and female students returned to school,
whether in their areas of origin or areas ofdisplacement, in schools alternative to theirschools.

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorate

Facts of the incident
First case :Mohammed Ali Ahmed(45 years old) works asa teacher in a school ina massacre and has fourchildren, three of whom are
studying in basic education.
After the Houthis took
control of their area, they
blew up Al Salah School on
February 26, 2020. Citizen
Muhammad Ali adds thatthe educational process
was disrupted due to thebombing of the school andthat his three children They
did not continue their basic
education.

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49

Second case :Saleh Ahmed Amer (55 years) lives
in the district of Jabal Murad andworks in the field of agriculture. He
has 7 children, five boys and two
girls. He says that four of his children
were prevented from continuing theireducation this year due to the total
destruction of the Revolution School
in Jabal Murad by a ballistic missile in
July 2021, which led to the destructionof Spacious in the school building
and interruption of the educational
process.
The third case :Ali Ahmed Rabie (62 years old), a
citizen of the Sirwah district, has fivechildren, four of whom were receiving
their education at Ali bin Abi Talib

50

THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

School. Because of the Houthis’control of Serwah in 2015, and thestorming of government institutions,
including schools, the educational
process in Serwah was disrupted, andthe elderly Ali adds Ahmed said that
because of their displacement to thekindergarten and the local authorities’
implementationofemergency
solutions and the construction ofschools in the displacement camps,
his two children, Muhammad andAhmed, returned to continue theireducation, but Alia and Hamda did not
return to school, due to overcrowded
classrooms and the lack of schools
for girls, and he could not bear The
costs of studying in private schools
in the city, which are about twenty
kilometers from the camp.

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorate

The fourth case :Ibrahim Muhammad Al-Qardei (49years), lives in al-Kula, Rahba district,and has six children, four of whom werestudying at Al-Wahda School. He saysthat the Houthis launched a continuous
attack on their area at the beginning of
the school year in August 2021, and they
were relentlessly bombing villages andrural areas with various types of weapons,
until they displaced the population. Fromtheir homes, Ibrahim adds that he is still
homeless and his children are still unable
to continue their education.
Mubarak Saif (40 years old) lives in

the upper Juba, and his family consistsof five children in addition to theirmother, four of his children study at
Wasit School, he says after a month anda half of the start of school, and becauseof the Houthi attack on their areas andtargeting villages and residential areas
with Katyushas and ballistic missiles,
the school principals were forced to
Suspending the educational process forfear of the students. He adds that citizens
have fled their areas, fearing for theirlives, to other villages and to the city ofMa’rib with their relatives or in camps forthe displaced, in a tragic situation, unable
to bear the burden of displacement.

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51

FIFTH: THE
DEPRIVATIONOF HEALTHSERVICES
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THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

The criminal Houthi militia continues its
violations against childhood, and targeting
medical and health facilities is one of the six
grave violations that violate the rights of thechild. However, the Houthi militia, since thebeginning of the war that it ignited against
the people of Yemen, has targeted medical andhealth facilities, hospitals, health centers andunits in the various districts of the governorate,
kidnapped medical and health workers andviolated international laws that protect
medical and ambulance crews, which areprotected under international humanitarianlaw. The Houthi militia targeted ambulances
while carrying out their duty to provide aid to
the injured and wounded after their bombing
operations.
The total number of medical and healthfacilities bombardment reached (105), where
the total targeting of medical facilities thatwere completely destroyed reached (16), andwhich were partially destroyed (32), and thenumber of facilities used by Houthi militias in

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governoratetheir military operations such as mobilization,
storage and training (14) A medical and healthfacility, and the number of 43 raids and looting,where international law describes targeting
medical and health facilities among the grave
violations against children, which is what the
Houthi militias do on an ongoing basis.
Because of the waves of displacement
due to indiscriminate and missile attacks,
106,926 boys and girls have been affected by
the absence of medical and health care in the
Marib Governorate, especially the districts
that witnessed armed confrontations due tothe Houthi militia.

According to the statistics, malnutritiondiseases are expanding among children due
to the Houthi siege, while ignoring medical
warnings and appeals to save the lives of(46389) children due to malnutrition, andtheir lives may be exposed to great dangers
due to the military escalation and the firing of
missiles at civilians and the continued influxof displaced people.
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53

SIXTH : FORCEDDISPLACEMENT
AND MIGRATION
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THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

The Executive Unit for the IDPs Camps in
Marib Governorate indicates in its reportNo. (43) dated December 7, 2021 AD thatthe number of displaced persons has reached(2,231,460) in Marib Governorate, and thesehuge numbers were forcibly displaced fromvarious governorates and districts of Yemen
controlled by the Houthi militia due totargeting Through rocket-propelled grenades,
sniping, planting mines, kidnappings,
threats and various violations, the statistics
of children under the age of 15 reach 40%of the total displaced, which portends a realcatastrophe for children in Marib governorate
due to displacement and forced displacement.

The Houthi militia continues to target
villages, cities and camps for the displacedon a continuous basis, and targets populatedareas with various heavy weapons, forcing
families to forcibly migrate from their homes,
leaving their homes, farms and their original

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governoratehome, despite the geographical distancefrom the areas of military clashes, but thecriminal behavior of the Houthi terroristgroup is intimidating The targeting and killingof children, innocents and women caused
great suffering, the most affected of whichwere children who suffer from deprivation
in medical, health and educational services,
especially in cold winter weather where
suffering and pain multiply, in addition to
the great risks facing children during theirdisplacement with their families.

Many of the forcibly displaced families
resort to displacement camps in deserts andopen spaces, and despite their displacement
and suffering, Houthi missiles of death pursue
them to their camps and places of displacementin violation of a war crime and crimes against
humanity according to international treaties.

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55

The right to food is a natural right for a humanbeing to continue to live so we hardly find abranch of international law that is devoid ofconfirming this right and preventing resorting
to depriving people of it, whatever the means
used in that deprivation, which is what is
stipulated in international human rights law,and the law international humanitarian.

SEVENTH:OBSTRUCTING
THE ACCESS OF
FOOD AID.
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THE MURDER OF CHILDHOOD

In international human rights law, Article(24) of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights states the right of everyone to a
standard of living adequate for the healthand well-being of himself and his family,
including food, clothing and medical care,and this right is also stipulated in Article 11of the International Covenant on Human
Rights. economic, social and cultural rights,
and affirms the right of every human being tobe free from hunger.

International humanitarian law, which aims
to protect people who do not participate
in armed conflicts, or who have stopped
participating in them, it protects civilians
during armed conflicts, and sets rules forthis protection within the Fourth Geneva

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorate

Convention, as well as Article 3 common to
the four Geneva Conventions. It is the article
that included cases of non-international armed
conflicts, in addition to the two additional
protocols to the Geneva Conventions, especiallythe second protocol, in which starvation is ofclear importance, and since the legal descriptionof the situation in Yemen, from the point of viewof international law, is “a non-internationalarmed conflict.”
Starvation, as a behavior and an intentionalact, is usually associated with a military siege
imposed by fighting forces, on a specific area,a city, or a part of a city, whether we are facing
an international conflict or a non-international
conflict.
The Rome Statute provides that « theintentional use of starvation of civilians as amethod of warfare.» It is considered a war crime
in international armed conflicts (Statute of theInternational Criminal Court, Article 8(2)(b)(25)), which is what the Houthi group practices
against civilians, especially children.

The Houthi militia prevented the arrival offood aid with the intention of starving civilians,
and the team monitored (323,673) children inneed of food aid and the provision of basic needs
in Marib governorate . Because of the continued
restriction and prevention of aid and thedevelopment of obstacles and the continuationof indiscriminate attacks and the launching ofrocket-propelled grenades, the seriousness of
their health and food situation is compounded,and the lack of the urgent humanitarian andrelief intervention of international to overcome
the terrible deterioration of children, for which
the International Convention on the Protectionof Children and its protocols stipulate the needto protect children during armed conflicts andprovide all their needs Medical and nutritional.

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57

RECOMMENDATIONS:
58

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Recommend:
1.

2.

3.

4.

Prosecuting those responsible for committing grave
crimes against children locally and internationally,and preparing legal files that include the names ofthe leaders involved in the crimes.
Coordination
withinternationalandUNorganizations to protect children and put pressure
on the Houthi militia to stop targeting children withmissiles, siege and starvation against children in the
districts of Marib Governorate, and facilitate theaccess of food aid to them.

Work to protect Yemeni children from the crimes
they are exposed to by the Houthi militia and address
the international community to pressure the Houthi
militia to stop crimes against Yemeni children.
Encouraging children to complete their education,
following up on their performance and cognitive
achievement, and providing the basic needs andrequirements.

A human Rights Report Monitors of Childhood Crimes and Violations in Marib Governorate

5.

6.

7.

Prompt, independent, and impartial
investigations are urgently conducted into
serious violations of children›s rights in
Yemen in general and Marib in particular.
Furthermore, provide the necessary support
to the Yemeni government following theseinvestigations to ensure accountability
and redress for any violations of the law.

Holding the Houthi group accountable
for the siege and starvation of civilians
and children in districts and villages, andfacilitating access to food aid, clean water,
treatments, and basic materials that are
indispensable for the survival of children.

them and refer them to the International
Criminal Court and others.
8.

9.

Prosecuting all those who caused orcontributed to firing indiscriminate rockets
and missiles at civilians, especially womenand children in Marib governorate, and all
those who contributed to planting minesand explosive devices, and included themin the lists of prosecution and local andinternational sanctions.
We call on UNICEF to open an office in
Marib governorate to protect children
living there.

We call upon the UN, the Security Council
and the Human Rights Council must
respect the principles and charters of theUnited Nations in forcing the armed Houthi
militia to implement UN resolutions, putpressure on its leaders, classify them as
obstacle to a political settlement and war
criminals, take legal sanctions against
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59