*Statement of Condemnation of the Bombing and Siege of Civilians in Al-Masoud, Al-Bayda

*Statement of Condemnation of the Bombing and Siege of Civilians in Al-Masoud, Al-Bayda*

We strongly condemn the indiscriminate shelling and the suffocating siege imposed by the Houthi group since the beginning of this year on the villages of Al-Masoud in the Al-Qurayshiah district of Al-Bayda governorate. As a result, several civilians have been killed, injured, and significant damage has occurred to property.

Initial reports confirm that the Houthi group used drone attacks, remotely piloted explosive drones, mortar shells, and BMB vehicles to target the homes of citizens in the villages of Al-Khasha and Al-Hanka. This led to the death and injury of at least 12 civilians, the burning of two houses and a mosque, and partial damage to 17 homes.

While supporters of the Houthi group claimed that they had informed the residents of the necessity to leave their homes 24 hours prior to a comprehensive attack on the village of Al-Khasha, residents from nearby villages confirmed to the organization that the Houthis cut off all roads leading to the village, preventing them from entering to rescue their female relatives married to men from the village and their children. The Houthis also prevented the wounded from being transferred to hospitals in the city of Rada’a, leaving them at risk of death.

The wife of tribal leader Mohammed Hussein Al-Masoudi and several family members are among the latest victims of the bombing of the village homes by drone attacks until the afternoon of Saturday, January 11, 2025. Residents also confirm that other civilians have been killed, but they could not reach them due to the ongoing wide-scale attack launched by the Houthi group since dawn, using various weapons and accompanied by intense artillery shelling on the homes.

These deadly indiscriminate attacks on civilians trapped in Al-Bayda, the prevention of food aid from reaching them, the blocking of their access to agricultural fields, the cutting off of water supplies, the denial of life-saving medical care, and the disruption of local communications networks constitute acts that amount to a complete war crime, in clear and systematic violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

We call for the immediate allowance of the injured to be transferred to hospitals, and we warn of retaliatory actions by the Houthi group against civilians in the villages of Al-Masoud, including executions, arbitrary arrests, and torture under terrorism charges, which the Houthis have routinely used to label the people of Al-Bayda as a pretext for physically eliminating or forcibly disappearing them since their control of the governorate in 2014.

Issued by: Mayyun Organization for Human Rights
January 11, 2025