28, Sep 2018

According to data compiled by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project (ACLED), civilian deaths in Yemen have risen significantly since the Saudi-led coalition mounted a campaign in June 2018 to capture the port city of Hodeidah, the Guardian reported. ACLED data indicates that civilian deaths have risen by 164% in the four months since the campaign was launched, with 166 people being killed per month. “In recent months, about one-third of the total conflict-related fatalities have been recorded in the governorate,” the Guardian noted. Efforts towards a ceasefire resulted in the hostilities being temporary halted before they recommenced earlier in September 2018. As per the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) Yemen director Frank McManus, “August was the most violent month of 2018 in Yemen with nearly 500 people killed in just nine days”. McManus added that “since 2015, the coalition has undertaken 18,000 airstrikes – one every 99 minutes – one-third of which have hit non-military targets”. He noted that a siege on Hodeidah “will effectively block humanitarian aid from reaching the 22 million people in need and could trigger famine”. 14 organisations, such as Oxfam and Save the Children, said in a statement to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that “civilians continue to bear the brunt” of the conflict in Yemen.