The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) is alarmed by reports of at least 53 civilians killed by the United States’ airstrikes on Yemen, which US President Donald Trump launched on 15 March. CIHRS also denounces the unlawful attacks by the Houthis on commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea. This latest spate of violence will only end through a comprehensive peace process that includes all parties to the conflict. Military action—whether by international forces or by armed groups—has only worsened the humanitarian crisis and prolonged the suffering of millions. CIHRS calls on the United Nations to intensify efforts to broker peace talks that bring together all stakeholders, including the Yemeni government, the Houthis, and international and regional actors.
On 15 March, US President Donald Trump announced the launch of a ‘powerful military attack’ against the Houthis in Yemen. The airstrikes launched on 15, 16 and 17 March hit several cities in the areas under the Houthis control in Yemen including Sanaa, Saada, Aljawf, and Al Hodaidah. According to the Houthis’ ministry of health, they killed at least 53 people, including five children and two women, and injured 98, including 18 children and a woman. The strikes came months after the US president re-designated the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, citing their attacks on US Navy warships and commercial vessels.
‘Once again, Yemeni civilians are paying the highest price for military escalation. We urge all parties to end this cycle of violence and prevent a further descent into full-scale war, the consequences of which would be devastating and unpredictable,’ said Amna Guellali, research director at CIHRS.
A video shared by the Houthi run tv, Al Masirah, shows a residence building hit by the airstrikes, destroying it completely. Residents from the area claim that the attack killed and injured 20 members of the Al Raqa family in Saada. Footage shows children being treated from burns and other injuries in a hospital in Saada. States are obliged under international human rights law and international humanitarian law to protect civilian lives and civilian infrastructure.
The US has a decades-long history of targeting Yemen through airstrikes, most recently in January 2024 when it allied with the United Kingdom and carried out airstrikes in response to Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea in what they have described as a response to Israel’s war on Gaza. Later in July 2024, Israel launched airstrikes on Al Hodaidah port in response to the Houthis’ drone strike on Tel Aviv on 19 July 2024.
US attacks resulted in casualties among civilians. They have also massively impacted the lives of millions of Yemenis, who already suffer from more than a decade of conflict and who depend on food and humanitarian aid, arriving primarily from the Al Hodaidah port.
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