Yemen.. 115 organizations condemn Houthi crimes against civilians in Al-Hanka village in Qayfa Rada'a

115 civil society organizations in Yemen condemned in the strongest terms the horrific crimes committed by the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist militias since Thursday, January 9, 2025, against civilians and civilian objects in the village of Al-Hanka, Al-Masoud tribe in Qayfa Rada’a, Al-Bayda Governorate.

A joint statement by the organizations said that what the criminal Houthi militias have been doing for three days of bombing and brutal siege of the Al-Hanaka area in the city of Rada’a has resulted in the deaths of 13 civilians, including women and children, among them the dead. It pointed out that the militias prevented the wounded from being treated, in addition to destroying and burning a number of civilian facilities and places of worship, and displacing hundreds of families, days after imposing a brutal siege on the people of Al-Hanaka village, before the Houthi militias sent large military reinforcements and arrested a number of the region’s residents amid fabricated accusations by the Houthi militias.

The statement said that the Houthi militias cut off water, food and medicine to the villagers, in conjunction with the continued bombing by drones, which led to a catastrophic deterioration in the humanitarian situation, especially among children, women and the elderly, and increased the suffering of its residents, threatening further loss of life and property.

The statement added that these crimes, which include premeditated murder, siege, forced displacement, and targeting of civilian objects and places of worship, come in the context of a military escalation by the Houthis on various fronts, coinciding with the deterioration of the humanitarian situation, noting that these crimes constitute a flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international humanitarian law, and international human rights law, and amount to war crimes and reflect the criminal nature of the Houthi militias, which do not hesitate to target innocent civilians indiscriminately and implement a violent sectarian agenda with the aim of spreading terror and fear among the civilian population and reinforcing its bloody approach.

Civil society organizations in Yemen called on the Houthi militia to lift the siege immediately and stop the military attacks targeting civilians in the region, calling on the international community and the United Nations to take urgent action to stop these violations, pressure the Houthi militia to lift the siege immediately, and provide safe corridors for humanitarian aid.

The organizations stressed that "the serious violations committed by the Houthi militias against civilians always confirm that the Houthi militias do not care about any peace process and do not abide by any agreements, and that they continue to commit crimes of killing and torturing civilians," calling on the High Commissioner for Human Rights and all international mechanisms to condemn these violations and crimes and work to prosecute their perpetrators and those responsible for them and ensure the provision of protection for the civilian population in areas under the control of the militia.

Sabanet