Report: 408 Yemeni Civilians Killed in Six Months

Saudi airstrikes and Houthi landmines continue to drive up toll

The Yemeni National Committee has issued a report on human rights cases in the last six months of 2018,  documenting 408 civilians killed and 711 wounded in the period from August to the end of January.

The report found that of the incident investigated, the majority (223) were killed in Saudi attacks, mostly by airstrikes, but also with some killed by pro-Saudi ground forces 185 were killed by the Houthis and their affiliates, overwhelmingly in landmines detonations.

This is by no means an all-inclusive figure for civilians killed in Yemen in that period: truthfully the Saudis have so many incidents of scores killed in strikes that even cursory media reports could find a much higher toll. But these are fully investigated, including all circumstances.

The report also documented torture and forced displacement of civilians by both sides, as well as illegal arrests and unauthorized detention sites run by some of the armed factions involved in fighting.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.