Yemeni Rights Network Documents 180 Houthi Abuses in 2 Weeks

The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms revealed on Monday that the Iran-backed Houthi militias have committed 180 abuses against civilians during the first two weeks of April.

In an official report, the Network explained that the abuses took place in different parts of the country in the period spanning from April 1-16.

“The observers documented the killing of 36 civilians, including 11 women and 11 children, in the cities of Taiz, Ibb, Hodeidah, Beidha, Sanaa, Dhale, Marib and Hajjah.”

It said that 51 civilians were injured, including 13 women and seven children.

According to the Network, Houthi militias pounded residential areas in the governorates of Marib, Hodeidah, Dhale and Taiz with Hauser cannons, Katyusha missiles and mortar rockets, killing 16 people.

Six of the victims were shot dead by Houthi snipers, the report found.

“The field observers documented six killing cases by direct fire shooting, four cases by burning and two cases by landmines the militia had planted,” it said.

The report stressed that Houthis re-named 35 schools after the militia’s slain warlords, and changed the name of conference rooms at the Sanaa University.

It said the militias destroyed 13 houses and damaged eight others across the country.

Houthis also freed 200 prisoners in Ibb only to later send them to the warfronts, where the militias are suffering immense losses, the report explained.

Moreover, it accused the Houthis of keeping journalists and politicians imprisoned without any legal charges.

Last week, the militias issued a death sentence against four Yemeni journalists and sentenced six others to six years in prison, sparking a wave of anger among the public and human rights groups.