Civilian Casualties in Saudi-led Air War Pass 18,500
Civilian casualties from Saudi-led coalition bombings doubled in July from the previous month after the single deadliest air raid in six months
Civilian casualties in the Saudi-led coalition's air war in Yemen passed 18,500 in July as air raids* continued the higher rate seen in the first half of 2020, ending three-years of declining bombing rates in the air campaign.
Civilian casualty numbers jumped in July by 92% month-on-month to 50 - the highest number of civilian casualties in a single month since February, and the second highest monthly rate in a year - adding to the month-on-month trebling of civilian casualties from May to June. The rising casualty numbers came despite air raid numbers falling by 20% from the two-year monthly high of 271 bombings in June,
Yemen Data Project recorded 215 air raids in July. Three air raids were responsible for the 50 civilian casualties in the month. At least 24 civilians were killed including 6 children and 2 women with a further 5 children and 2 women injured in a single air raid on 15 July. The bombing of a social gathering of women in the district of Al-Hazm in Al-Jawf governorate was one of the deadliest air raids for civilians so far this year, second only to an air raid in Al-Jawf in February that killed 35.
For the third consecutive month bombings were concentrated in the five governorates of Marib, Sa'ada, Al-Jawf, Hajja and Al-Bayda. Marib was the most heavily targeted, with a second consecutive month of high bombing rates in the governorate. The capital governorate of Amanat Al-Asimah saw the heaviest month of bombing in more than two years with 13 air raids recorded in Sana'a city including an air raid on a food storage facility.
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AIR RAIDS DOWN 20% ON JUNE 2020
CIVILIAN CASUALTIES UP 92%
TOTAL NUMBERS MARCH 2015 - JULY 2020
CIVILIAN CASUALTIES 18,511
AIR RAIDS 21,633
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The highest number of air raids recorded in a single month remains September 2015 at 920, which was also the deadliest month in the air war when at least 756 civilians were killed.
April 2015 saw the highest number of civilian casualties (fatalities and injured) in a single month at 1,745.
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JULY 2020
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In July, 13% of bombings hit civilian targets** 13% hit military targets. In 73% of air raids in July the target could not be identified. Of the 58 air raids where the target could be identified, 50% of bombings hit civilian sites. 50% of identifiable targets were military.
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Of the 58 air raids where the target was identified in July 2020
- 15 hit residential areas, killing 11 civilians - all women and children - and injuring 8, of which 4 were women and children.
- 2 hit government compounds - both customs depots.
- 2 hit farms.
- 1 hit a social gathering, killing 24 civilians including 6 children, and injuring 7 including 5 children.
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MOST HEAVILY BOMBED GOVERNORATES JULY 2020
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MARIB: Breakdown of districts targeted
Marib continues to be the most heavily bombed governorate of 2020 with June and July seeing the highest rates of air raids so far this year. A quarter of all Saudi-led coalition air raids in 2020 targeted Marib. Majzar district in Marib has been the most heavily bombed district in the country so far this year with more than 50% of all bombings in Marib hitting Majzar. Sirwah was the second most heavily bombed district countrywide in July.
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SA'ADA: Breakdown of districts targeted
Sa'ada remains the most heavily bombed governorate in the air war. The western border district of Al-Dhaher was the most heavily bombed district of the governorate in July.
Over 48% of all air raids in the month targeted six districts: Majzar, Sirwah and Al-Adbiyah in Marib; Harad in Hajja, and Al-Hazm and Khab Wa Al-Sha'af districts in Al-Jawf governorate.
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This extensive monitoring effort has allowed ACLED and YDP to provide the most comprehensive coverage of political violence across Yemen.
ACLED's methodology on casualty counting differs from Yemen Data Project's air raids data. See here for more details on ACLED's methodology and coding decisions used in their data collection.
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FOR MORE DETAILS AND COMMENT PLEASE CONTACT:
Iona Craig (UK) +447446598852 iona.craig@yemendataproject.org
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*Air raid refers to a single incident. One air raid incident includes all air strikes on a single location within approximately one hour and therefore may comprise multiple airstrikes. Airstrikes per air raid can vary greatly from a couple to several dozen. Read more.
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**Non-military targeting may be an indication of fighting taking place in urban areas resulting in the possible change of use of buildings and/or escalated targeting of civilian sites. The dataset lists target category and subcategory for each incident, where information on the target is available. When listing permanent structures the target category refers to the original use of the target e.g. a school hit by an air raid is referred to as a school building with no further assessment made on its use at the time of the air raid, or any possible change of use over the course of the conflict.
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