131 violations documented by HRITC affecting civilians during last August in Taiz
Taiz / Special:
Human Rights Information and Training Center (HRITC) announced that it has documented 131 incidents of human rights violation that affected civilians in Taiz Governorate during the month of August 2020.
HRITC said in a press statement today that its field team was able to document the killing of 23 civilians, including a woman and 5 children, the Houthi militia killed 9 civilians, including two children, two civilians were killed by artillery shells, and civilians, including a child, were killed by a sniper, and the Houthis executed another civilian. Two civilians were tortured, and one civilian was assassinated, while direct bullets killed a child.
Militants outside the state killed four civilians, including a child with direct bullets, while an explosive device killed other civilians. Multiple factions affiliated with the government army caused the deaths of 3 civilians during the clashes between them, and a woman was killed by artillery shelling and two civilians were killed by direct bullets of these factions, and two children were killed in an explosion A hand grenade planted by unknown persons
HRITC field team monitored the injury of 60 civilians, including three women and seven children, the Houthi militia injured nine of them, including a woman and sniper bullets wounded four children, 5 of them, including a woman and two children, while four civilians, including two children, were wounded by anti-aircraft fire.
Armed men outside the country wounded 16 civilians, including a woman, with direct bullets, and an explosive device wounded eight civilians, and unidentified gunmen wounded six civilians with direct bullets and 5 others, when an explosive device exploded.
In addition, three civilians were wounded by bullets from members of various factions in the government army, while the ongoing clashes between them caused the injury of 13 civilians, including a woman and three children.
The field team of the Human Rights Information and Training Center – HRITC documented one case of kidnapping committed by gunmen affiliated with multiple factions in the government army, as well as three cases of abuse, each of which was committed by Houthi gunmen, members of the government army, and armed men outside the state.
HRITC recorded two cases of rape of children committed by gunmen affiliated with the Houthi militia, which were revealed by activists and the Siyaj organization.
HRITC team monitored 42 cases of violation of public and private property, including five cases of public property, where the Public Health Office was stormed, its employees expelled and closed; individuals affiliated with multiple factions in the government army looted the training and rehabilitation institute stormed and its contents looted an ambulance and two military crews.
37 cases of violation of private property were monitored, as 5 houses, 7 vehicles and 6 water tanks were partially damaged as a result of a hail of bullets fired by the Houthi militia, and a restaurant was partially damaged as a result of the bombing by the Houthi militia.
A house was burned, a pharmacy and a furniture store were broken into, and a house was broken into. Moreover, its contents were looted, and three houses and 4 vehicles were damaged by a hail of bullets fired by militants outside the state, and 6 houses were stormed and looted and a shop was raided by individuals affiliated with multiple factions in the government army.
The monthly report issued by the HRITC titled “Taiz in the Cycle of Chaos and Unrest” indicated an unprecedented increase in the security chaos in Taiz during the month of August, as many areas of Taiz entered the circle of chaos.
The report emphasized that what causes more concern in Taiz is the reinforcement of the confusion between the actions of the official security forces and the army on the one hand, and the human rights violations carried out by armed groups that have reached the point of killing and committing crimes that can be classified as crimes against humanity.
The center’s field team monitored the killing of four soldiers, gunmen outside the state’s borders killed three of them, a member of the government army killed another, and 14 others were wounded. Unidentified gunmen targeted four of them. Members of the government army targeted two others and wounded eight others in clashes with militants outside the state.
HRITC field team monitored two cases of an assassination attempt, as Muhammad Khaled Hamid Aqlan, 20 years old, a soldier in the Military Police, survived an assassination attempt by gunmen outside the state’s borders in Jahmaliya in a hall, and Brigadier General Muhammad Salem al-Khawlani survived an assassination attempt in an ambush by unknown gunmen at Jabal Habashi Junction. As a result, three of his companions were wounded, two of them seriously.
The report touched on the continuing absence of accountability and any presence of the local authority and all legitimate government strengths from concerned ministries such as the Interior, Defense and Justice, and the reins of affairs have become in open chaos.
Although the political and military leaders in Taiz governorate have evaded responsibility for the murders. As happened with Aseel al-Jabzi, Muhammad Mahdi, and the child, whichever one is, all indications indicate clear coverage by official authorities and the lack of real action to stop these crimes or take full seriousness in achieving accountability after the occurrence of these crimes, where the absence of accountability remains the most prominent gateway to the perpetuation of chaos.
Human Rights Information and Training Center (HRITC) – Taiz
13 / 9 / 2020
https://hritc.co/18891?lang=en
https://hritc.co/18895?lang=en
