Heavy toll of Houthi and Brotherhood violations in Taiz in 6 months
English - Tuesday 27 July 2021 الساعة 10:57 am
Aden, NewsYemen:
A human rights center documented about 1,061 violations against civilians in Taiz during the first half of this year, while the Houthi militia topped the list of perpetrators, followed by the armed factions affiliated with the Islah Party, the local branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.
In a semi-annual report, the Information and Rehabilitation Center for Human Rights said that the Houthi militia committed 900 violations in Taiz, while the armed factions of the "Brotherhood" committed 132 violations, in addition to 16 violations by unknown armed men.
The report, entitled "Taiz...between the Houthis and the chaos of the armed militias", documented the killing of about 101 civilians, including 4 women and 22 children, of whom 60 civilians were killed by Houthi fire, whether by missiles or snipers.
The report said that mines and explosive devices planted by the Houthi militia on roads, farms and homes killed 11 civilians, including 4 children, and one child was killed by a hand grenade explosion, and the Houthi militia executed 3 other civilians.
He added, that Houthi gunmen beat a civilian to death, while a militia group ran over two civilians, and two others were killed as a result of torture in its prisons in Al-Saleh city.
He stated that gunmen outside the framework of the state killed 20 civilians, including a woman and 3 children, of whom 15 were killed by direct bullets, while a woman was executed by hanging, 3 children were killed by a grenade explosion, and another civilian was killed by an explosive device explosion.
According to the report, 10 civilians, including a child, were shot dead by military factions affiliated with legitimacy in Taiz, 6 of them were killed by direct bullets, a civilian was executed by members of the army outside the law, and another was run over by a military crew.
"Unidentified gunmen caused the death of 7 civilians," he said.
The center's field team documented 229 civilian casualties during the reporting period (1 January-30 June 2021), including 76 children and 26 women, explaining that the Houthi militia caused the injury of 163 civilians.
He added that 32 civilians were wounded by armed gunmen outside the framework of the state (Brotherhood militias in Taiz), including a woman and 9 children, and members of the Taiz axis of "legitimacy" caused the injury of 26 civilians, including two women and 21 children.
Unidentified gunmen also wounded 4 civilians, including a child, as a civilian was wounded in the explosion of an explosive device, and 3 other civilians, including a child, were wounded.
The report said that it had documented 147 cases of kidnapping and enforced disappearance, 137 of which were committed by the Houthi militia.
The report documented 411 cases of displacement and forced displacement of individuals and families perpetrated by the Houthi militia, and 3 cases of violations of freedom of opinion and expression.
The team also monitored 159 violations against public and private properties that affected 153 civilian areas in Taiz, including 122 cases committed by the Houthi militia, and the others carried out by the Brotherhood's militias.
The center said that it documented 6 bloody massacres in Taiz during the month of March, four of which were committed by the Houthi militia, which killed 7 civilians, including 4 children, and wounded 18 civilians, including four children, while the Brotherhood's forces committed two massacres.
The report dealt with the state of assassinations, chaos and lawlessness in the city of Taiz, noting that Islah party gunmen assassinated a military leader and his companion.
