Thaabat area, Taizz. December 2016. By: Hussam Alqulaiaa.
Dec 16, 2018
Al-Shaqb is a rural area in the District of Sabir Al-Mawadim, Taizz Governorate. Villages in the area are dispersed around steep terraces and the people there suffer the hardships of life and the lack of basic services.
In March 2015, the area was attacked by Ansar Allah (Houthi) gunmen. Since then, the area became a battle front between the gunmen of the Houthi group and the gunmen of the popular resistance, backed by pro-Hadi military Units.
Following the outbreak of the clashes in the area, Ansar Allah (Houthi) group took control of the entire Mount Sabir. Later, control over the area oscillated between them on one hand and the gunmen of the Popular Resistance and the pro-Hadi army units on the other. The Houthi gunmen are stationed in the following villages: Tabat Al-Saliheen (Al-Saliheen Hill), Al-Saliheen downhill, Al-Sharqi Valley, Al-Mashoot village, Haboor village and Naqeel Al-Haddah. The gunmen of the popular resistance and the pro-Hadi army units, on the other hand, are stationed in the following villages:Tabat Dar Maz’al, Mawqi’ Al-Hisn, Mawqi’ Al-Sinah and Mawqi’ Al-’Arus, which is the highest peak in Mount Sabir.
Under the ongoing armed clashes, Al-Shaqb has become an area of distressed villages, stricken with shells and bullets on a daily basis, and its reefs are planted with mines. The bitterness of displacement and enforced evictions has become a common agony suffered by all the villagers in the area.
Some villagers in the area were directly targeted and forced to leave their homes by Ansar Allah (Houthi) gunmen. Yousef Abdul-Ghani Radman (53, worker) is one of those who have been forced to leave their homes. Yousef recounts his story, “At about 9:30 pm on Tuesday May 9, 2017, after breaking into my house in Al-U’aidan village in Al-Shaqb area, the Houthis arrested me and made me write an undertaking to leave my house along with my family. They threatened to blow it up over our heads if we decided to stay. The next morning, we left our house and till now we are displaced in Al-Nigadah village. The Houthis forced all families in Al-U’aidan village into displacement and there is none to stop them.”
Families that continued to live in Al-Shaqb area continue to face death in different ways. Hardly a day passes by in the area without hearing the sounds of projectiles, shells, bullets, cries of distress, running, blood and shreds, running again, a field hospital staffed by one doctor, and an SUV vehicle crossing the rugged road towards the city hospitals.
Since their control of the area, Ansar Allah (Houthis) gunmen have been stationed in Tabat Al-Saliheen to the east, rendering the villages and farms in the Al-Shaqb completely exposed to their missiles and live ammunitions.
In the events documented by Mwatana for Human Rights, all civilian casualties of live ammunitions included shots to the head or to the heart. Civilian injuries often included shots to the limbs and shots were often fired at the first responders.
The gravity of the situation can be observed in the story of Ahmed Abdul-Wahab Al-Faqih, 13, who was wounded twice. The first time was on March 16, 2018 in his home village, Al-Sharaf village. Ahmed sustained a gunshot wound in his right thigh coming from Tabat Al-Saliheen, in addition to shrapnel wound in the leg. Hakimah Saeed bin Saeed, 35, ran to Ahmed’s rescue but she received a bullet in her right thigh, too. Ahmed and Hakimah were rushed to Al-Safwah Hospital in Taizz, where Ahmed underwent a surgery to remove the bullet from his thigh.
Following this incident, Ahmed’s family moved to the neighboring Al-Nagad village. Three months after the first injury, as Ahmed was playing with other children outside his home, he sustained shrapnel wound on July 21, 2018. This time, Ahmed sustained the injury to the head. Eye witnesses said that the projectile came from Naqeel Al-Haddah, 500 meters to the east of Al-Shaqb area.Ahmed was rushed to the field hospital in the area and was then transferred to Al-Safwah Hospital through the rugged road.
Empty houses were not spared from looting and bombing, as Ansar Allah gunmen looted a number of houses and detonated them using explosive devices, destroying them, causing extensive damage to nearby farms, and damaging the electricity grid.
At 10:00 pm on Wednesday August 1, 2018, Ansar Allah (Houthi) gunmen, stationed in Tabat Al-Saliheen, detonated a house in Al-U’aidan village with explosive devices. In an interview with Mwatana, Ali Abdullah (45, worker), the house owner says: “The Houthis infiltrated the village, which is almost empty because of the displacement of most of its residents, and bombed my three-storey house; an old stone and timber house. They blew it all up. Everyone in the area is suffering; houses and farms have been destroyed and no one is able to return to his home or work in his farm.”
The atrocities of the Ansar Allah (Houthis) gunmen did not stop at this, but rather went to the extent of blocking the road leading from Dimnat Khaddir to Al-Shaqb area, and denying access for food stuff and medical supplies. They also blocked all secondary roads leading to the area from Dimnat Khaddir.
The siege covers seven valleys, which are the main spots where most villagers in the area go to earn their living; namely Al-Sharqi Valley, Al-Farhi Valley, Al-Madahiah Valley, Al-Madhabi’ Valley, Al-Mashoot Valley, Al-Hisn Valley and Shaqrah Valley. Farmers and landowners alike are afraid of coming closer to their farms.
Al-Shaqb has come to be the home of many painful stories. A place exacerbated by the lack of infrastructure, particularly roads and health services. As a result, people are forced to rush the wounded and the ill to the city of Taizz through a very rugged road. In addition to the high cost of transportation fees, it takes three hours to get to the city of Taizz, during which the wounded may die on the way to the hospital.
