Human Rights Watch on Wednesday called for the recent US bombing of the Ras Issa Fuel Port in Hodeidah, Yemen, to be investigated as a war crime due to the massive civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure.
The US launched airstrikes against the port on April 17, killing 84 civilians and injuring 150 more. The monitoring group Airwars was able to identify the 84 civilians by name. The dead included 49 port workers, several truck drivers, two civil defense workers, and three children.
When the US announced the attack on the port, it did not allege that it was hitting a military target. US Central Command justified the bombing of vital civilian infrastructure by saying the Houthis, who govern an area where about 70% to 80% of Yemenis live, “profit” off fuel that enters the port.
According to HRW, the Ras Issa port is one of three ports in Hodeidah where 70% of Yemen’s commercial imports and 80% of its humanitarian assistance pass through.
“The applicable international humanitarian law during the fighting in Yemen prohibits deliberate, indiscriminate, or disproportionate attacks on civilians and civilian objects,” HRW said.
“When used by an armed force or non-state armed group, port facilities and oil storage tanks can be valid military objectives. However, attacking the port fuel depot because it is an “economic source of power of the Houthis” or provides them revenue would make virtually any entity that provided economic benefit subject to military attack,” HRW added.
From March 15 until President Trump declared a ceasefire with the Houthis on May 6, the US military said it launched over 1,000 strikes on Yemen. The bombing campaign took a significant toll on civilians, killing more than 200, according to the Yemen Data Project.
HRW called for investigations into other US strikes, including the bombing of a migrant detention facility in the Saada province, which killed more than 60 African migrants.
