Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized the capital Sanaa, forcing President Hadi to flee to Saudi Arabia. In March 2015, Saudi Arabia launched a military intervention with Gulf allies and U.S. support, including airstrikes and a naval blockade.
The conflict quickly evolved into a regional proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Peace negotiations repeatedly failed while al-Qaeda forces simultaneously expanded in southern Yemen.
Coalition forces launched a 2018 offensive toward the critical Hodeidah port, resulting in a limited ceasefire. February 2021 saw the Houthis launch a major offensive for Marib and increase missile strikes against Saudi Arabia, triggering retaliatory airstrikes in the deadliest fighting since 2018. Despite reduced major hostilities in 2022, al-Qaeda attacks surged in mid-2023.
In November 2023 Houthi forces hijacked a commercial vessel and subsequently attacked dozens more, severely disrupting international shipping. The U.S. and UK conducted retaliatory airstrikes in January 2024.
The conflict has created a humanitarian disaster in Yemen, with two thirds of the population in need of humanitarian assistance and over 4.5 million people displaced. An estimated 377,000 people have died since 2015, including at least 11,000 children. The majority of civilian deaths are due to indirect impacts of the conflict, including damage to healthcare services and food insecurity. Airstrikes are believed to have caused more than 19,000 civilian casualties, and the blockade continues to exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.
All parties to the conflict have been accused of violating international law.
What we’re doing
There are no state-led programmes to identify and document casualties of armed conflict in Yemen, although some humanitarian agencies compile statistics on civilian harm. Every Casualty Counts works with these initiatives and advocates internationally for more attention to the documentation of fatalities in Yemen. Casualty records are vital for accountability, reparation and future transitional justice processes, as well as for ensuring immediate humanitarian responses are effective.
Every victim has the right to be recognized and to seek justice, and to be treated as a human being rather than just a number or a mere incidental result.
Mwatana for Human Rights, CRN Member
First in, last out: civil society casualty recorders in Yemen
22 February 2022
Image: 200612_Yemen-272 by Franco Pecchio licensed under CC BY 2.0