Violence in Marib Bucks Countrywide Trends
Sirwah: primary target in the bombing campaign
The Saudi-led bombing campaign is continuing its focus on Sirwah district in Marib. This year has seen a surge in bombings in the district. A quarter (216) of all coalition air raids (866) in Yemen so far this year have hit Sirwah. Where the target could be identified, 39% of air raids hit non-military targets in Sirwah, including 31 air raids in residential areas and on civilian houses. Farms and an IDP camp have also been bombed in the district. (In 45% of air raids* in Sirwah so far this year the target could not be identified.) Sirwah remains the most heavily bombed district countrywide since the start of the air war.
2,793 households (19,550 people) have been displaced from the district and eight displacement sites evacuated since February, according to IOM. Siwah's estimated population in February was 32,000 (including IDPs). Current figures indicate 61% of the district population has been displaced.
Rising violence in Marib
The primary focus of bombings in the Marib district reflects the intensified violence on the ground, instigated by an ongoing Houthi military offensive launched earlier this year in the governorate. UNHCR reports widespread damage to civilian homes, farms and livestock. IOM reported 2,937 households (some 20,500 individuals) were displaced in Marib from January 2021 to the end of July. One million people are currently displaced across the governorate, according to local authority estimates. Those displace by the violence are arriving "at an unprecedented rate". So fart this year 31 new displacement sites have opened in Marib, bringing the total of IDP sites in the governorate to 148.
Civilian casualties from air raids (9 killed, 11 injured) in the governorate in the first half of 2021 were the highest in any half-year period in Marib since 2018, and more than all of 2019 and 2020 combined, despite a countrywide record low in casualty rates. Similarly, the Civilian Impact Monitoring Project reports more civilian casualties in Marib (from all forms of violence) during the first six months of this year than throughout 2019 and 2020.
Marib has been the mostly heavily bombed governorate for more than a year - in keeping with the military confrontations. In July there were more than three times as many air raids in Marib (70) than in the second most heavily bombed governorate of Al-Bayda (20), which saw the highest number of bombings in a year. No civilian casualties were recorded in the air war in July - only the fifth month of 77 months of the bombing campaign with no civilian casualties in air raids.
|
|
|
AIR RAIDS DOWN 7% ON JUNE 2021
CIVILIAN CASUALTIES DOWN FROM 3 IN JUNE
TOTAL NUMBERS MARCH 2015 - JULY 2021
CIVILIAN CASUALTIES 18,616
AIR RAIDS 23,351
|
|
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.
In YDP's data the air raid* figure is the most conservative. The true number of individual airstrikes ranges from the minimum of 23,351 to a maximum airstrikes of 68,442 since March 2015.
|
|
JULY 2021
|
|
|
|
In July 17% of bombings hit civilian targets** and 22% hit military targets. In 61% of air raids in July the target could not be identified. Of the 49 air raids where the target could be identified, 57% of bombings hit military targets. 43% of identifiable targets were civilian.
|
|
Of the 49 air raids where the target was identified in July 2021
- 14 hit residential areas.
- 7 hit farms.
|
|
MOST HEAVILY BOMBED GOVERNORATES JULY 2021
|
|
|
|
MARIB: Breakdown of districts targeted
Marib continues to be the most heavily bombed governorate. 56% of all Saudi-led coalition air raids in JuLY targeted Marib. Sirwah was the most heavily bombed district in the country for the seventh consecutive month with 40% of air raids in the month in Marib hitting the district. In July, YDP recorded the highest number of air raids in Rahabah district since October 2020.
At least 216 air raids have hit Sirwah so far this year with up to 1,766 individual airstrikes - an average of 8 airstrikes per day from January though July. The district is the most heavily bombed countrywide.
|
|
|
Al-BAYDA: Breakdown of districts targeted
Al-Bayda was the second mostly heavily bombed governorate in July with 20 air raids - the highest monthly rate in Al-Bayda since August 2020. The most heavily targeted district was Nati' (9), which borders the neighbouring governorate of Shabwa. 72% of all air raids in the month hit the governorates of Marib and Al-Bayda.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
FOR MORE DETAILS AND COMMENT PLEASE CONTACT:
Iona Craig (UK) +447446598852 iona.craig@yemendataproject.org
|
|
|
*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.
|
|
|
**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.
|
|
|
|
|
