Turning a playground into a death arena

December 20,2022

Although it was not a main play yard, it was good enough for children and young men to play football. There was no referee with a whistle to announce the end of the game. The rule of the game is rather open and spontaneous, and the game ends when Malik takes his ball and returns home.

As the ball was bouncing off the players’ feet and when the audience was watching and cheering and the bystanders were passing by, the yard of the Public Telecommunications Corporation in Hodeida turned into a horrific scene of killed and injured.    

At 10:00 pm, on Thursday 20 January 2022, the Saudi Emirati-led Coalition targeted the Public Telecommunications Corporation in the Port district, Hodeidah governorate. Its bombs were the referee’s whistle that ended the game bloodily. 

4 killed and 13 injured including 4 children is the casualty toll of that bloody evening.

The victim Wadei Al- Harazi begins his statement by saying:

 “My son Wael (8 years old) and my nephew Amir (11 years old) were playing in front of me and suddenly I couldn’t see anything except darkness. There was no sound of my son or my nephew.

I was pulling out the bodies and the injured children. My ring and pinky fingers of my left hand were cut off and my right leg was broken. I was bleeding from every part of my body. I couldn’t find my son and I was shouting and calling on him. The rescuers found him about 30m away from me. His little body flew away and hit the ground and he died immediately. My nephew is still in the hospital.”

The 20-years-old Mazen spoke with a somber tone about the condition of his mother after his brother Ramiz (10 years old) was killed: “My mother couldn’t accept that my brother had died.” She had a heart attack as a result of the shock.”

Although the verbal expressions that described the heinous nature of the incident differed, the features and faces of the victims were unified by their physical and psychological wounds. The effects of attack go beyond that yard as the targeting caused the disruption of internet service and Yemen Mobile Communications Network for three days. The attack also caused the damage of the telecommunications building including equipment and devices. This material damage of a civilian facility adds to the isolation of Yemeni civilians who no longer can be more isolated.