Monthly Briefing / September – 2022

Political Scene

The humanitarian truce to be renewed in early October topped the priorities of the UN and U.S. envoys, the ambassadors of the five permanent members of the Security Council and the European Union, with the Security Council clearly emphasizing that the military option is not available to any party.

• The United States and France condemn the Houthis for preventing oil companies from complying with international regulations regarding the flow of fuel to the port of Hodeidah. (9/9)

• The U.S. Special Envoy to Yemen called on the Houthis to support peace efforts and stop military attacks on the city of Taiz.  (11/9)

• The UN Security Council calls on the political parties in Yemen to agree on an expanded truce and a permanent ceasefire.  (13/9)

• The chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, met with the president of Germany, Dr. Frank Steinmeier, in the capital, Berlin, to discuss the situation in Yemen and means of cooperation between the two countries. (9/14)

• The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, expressed his concern over reports of the confiscation and destruction of land and farms of civilians in Houthi-controlled areas in Hodeidah. (9/16)

• The United Nations has secured $77 million for the rescue operation of the oil tanker “Safer” in the Red Sea. (22/9)

Military Scene 

The military file witnessed international pressures to renew the armistice, aiming at a permanent peace, with the increase in military violations and the exchange of accusations by the warring parties, in light of the deaths and injuries of both sides on the battlefronts within daily clashes.

• A drone affiliated with the Houthis crashed in Al-Jawf Governorate while monitoring the forces of the National Army. (9/4)

• The National Army announced the killing and wounding of 7 of its soldiers by the Houthis’ gunfire, as part of 377 violations of the UN armistice, on the fronts of Hodeidah, Taiz, Al-Dhalea, Hajjah, Saada, Al-Jawf and Marib. (9/19)

Security Scene:

Cases of assassinations have increased in Sana’a and the capital, Aden, in addition to cases of security breaches, as military convoys and security forces were targeted, with major insecurity and crime spreading in Ibb Governorate.

• General Abdullah Muhammad al-Kibsi, a former member of parliament, was assassinated in front of his house in the capital Sana’a, a day after the assassination of Supreme Court member Judge Muhammad Hamran. (9/1)

• The leader of the Houthis, Qais Naji Al-Bakhiti, was killed, and three of his guards were injured, in a clash with other Houthi gunmen, in Dhamar Governorate. (9/6)

• The death toll from the attack that targeted forces from the “security belt” in Abyan governorate has risen to 26, including 6 members of the attackers, believed to be from the Al-Qaeda. (9/6)

• The leader of the “Security Belt” affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council, Abu Shaye, was killed, and three soldiers were wounded (9/6).

• The Sudanese army announced the seizure of a boat carrying weapons and ammunition, with four Yemenis on board, in the territorial waters of Sudan, in the Red Sea (9/25)

• The United States announced the training of 12 soldiers from the Yemeni border guards, in Kazakhstan. (9/27).

The Economic Scene 

The month of September witnessed efforts aimed at renewing a long-term humanitarian truce, which includes the regular payment of salaries to 600,000 employees and the exporting of liquefied natural gas to European countries, from the port of Balhaf, which has been suspended since the beginning of the war in 2015.

• The Houthis stopped selling diesel in all areas under its control, despite its availability in large quantities. (9/2)

• The executive director of the World Food Program, David Beasley, said that food prices increased by 70% in the areas controlled by the Houthis, compared to what they were a year ago, and have increased by 40% in the areas controlled by the government. (9/16)

• A document issued by the Sana’a Gas Company, which is affiliated with the Houthis, revealed an annual profit from the gas trade, equivalent to $186 million, as a result of the 39% increase in prices. (9/18)

• The Yemeni government signs an agreement with the U.S. side to postpone debt interest for financial loans incurred by Yemen (9/22)

• Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, stated that the Houthis obtained 300 billion Yemeni riyals from the proceeds of oil tankers arriving at the port of Hodeidah during the past six months, however, they failed to pay the salaries of the employees. (9/24 )

• The Council of Ministers, headed by Dr. Moeen Abdul-Malik, approved the draft reforms program related to the announced support from the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, to support the stability of the national currency and to strengthen foreign exchange reserves. (9/24)

Violations 

Despite the reduction in military confrontations between the warring parties, the violations file is still the most prominent, especially among the Houthis and the forces of the STC. A wide range of violations were documented by organizations, inside and outside prisons, and the incident of filming the journalist Ahmed Maher revealed the suffering of the detainees in prisons.

• SAM for Rights and Liberties and the American Center for Justice called on the chairman of the PLC to direct the release of those who had forcibly disappeared in the prisons of the STC forces and to investigate the validity of the information mentioned in the report related to the establishment of illegal prisons. (9/2)

• A recorded video of journalist Ahmed Maher, who was kidnapped by the STC, showed allegedly confessing to supporting terrorism, weeks after he was kidnapped with his brother. In the video, signs of torture can be seen on various parts of his body. (9/4)

• The head of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Maya Amiratunga, accused the Houthis of “Talibanization” in northern Yemen due to the restrictions imposed by them on Yemeni women in the areas under its control, especially those working in the humanitarian field. (9/10)

• The Human Rights Association said 1,700 Yemeni women were kidnapped by the Houthis, during the period between August 2015 and August 2022, where they were subjected to torture. (9/20)

• A young man was killed by torture in one of the prisons under the control of the Houthis in the Ibb governorate; the perpetrators were not arrested or even interrogated. (9/21)

• The Yemeni Landmine Records announced the killing of a woman and the injury of two, in a landmine explosion, planted by the Houthis in the Hodeidah Governorate, while 10 children were injured as a result of the explosion of a projectile from the remnants of war. (9/25)

General news:

• Yemeni activists announced preparations to launch a “National Document” to protect sovereignty, restore the state and end the coup, under the national principles and constants (the republic, unity and sovereignty). (9/11)

• Local sources said: “Tribes in the north of Sana’a are protesting over levies imposed on them by the Houthis for the third week in a row. (9/24)

• The National Army has a military parade in the city of Marib on the 60th anniversary of the September 26 Revolution. (9/26).

STATISTICS 

“Yemen Rights” issued a report revealing that 2,316 men, women and children, were killed or injured as a result of the Houthis’ missile and artillery attacks on civilians and homes in Marib Governorate, during the period of October 2014 to February 2022.

• • Deaths: 788 total: 161 children, 113 women, 514 men and elderly people)

  • Injuries 1,528 total: 335 children, 302 women and 891 men.

  • The cases of targeting the IDP camps in Ma’rib governorate reached 123 cases of bombing, and the “Mail Camp” topped the list.

  • In 2016, the number of murders and injuries reached 454 total, including 133 murders and 321 injured people.

• In 2020, which ranked third in statistics, the number of victims reached 275 total, including 103 murders and 172 injured people.

• 2021 was the deadliest year, as the number of deaths and people injured reached 543, including 190 cases of murder and 352 injured people.

Targeted buildings 2273

• 421 homes 

• 96 educational institutes  

• 52 IDP camps 

• 78 hospitals and medical institutes 

Weapons used in targeting

• 367 ballistic missiles

• 627 Grad (Katyusha) missiles

• 238 drones

• 653 mortars

• 388 projectiles

• The Yemeni Landmine Monitor documented the deaths of 426 civilians and 568 wounded, during the period of mid-2019 to August 2022, as a result of Houthi landmines. Among the dead were 101 children and 22 women, and among the wounded were 216 children and 48 women. (9/7)

• The Human Rights Association documented (10) thousands of violations against civilians, including 6,250 cases of kidnapping and enforced disappearance of political figures, activists, media professionals, women and children, during the period of January 1, 2019 to March 1, 2022. (9/23)

• The Human Rights Association said, in a speech delivered to the Human Rights Council, in Geneva, “The Houthis have killed and injured 14,010 children in Yemen since its coup against the “legitimacy” in September. It documented the killing of 5,700 children, including 1,100 children, in Taiz Governorate, and the injury of 8,310 others, as a result of the bombing of residential neighborhoods. (9/17)

   

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