In 2017, Mwatana documented no less than 18 cases of attacks on hospitals and medical centers. These attacks were carried out by Ansar Allah (the Houthis); the popular resistance groups and the Security Belt forces.
Abdul Qader Al-Mutawakil Hospital in Sana’a was occupied by Ansar Allah (the Houthis) in early December 2017.
The Legal Framework
Pursuant to the International Humanitarian Law, warring parties shall ensure that humanitarian aid workers (individuals and agencies) are protected against assault, harassment, intimidation, arbitrary detention, etc. Parties to the conflict must also ensure that humanitarian relief workers have the ability to move in accordance with their missions.
The International Humanitarian Law prohibits targeting civilians and civilian objects. In this regard, hospitals and medical facilities enjoy special protection by virtue of their function and because they are often (run) by civilians. Big numbers of civilians might be present in hospitals. The only exception to this rule is when such hospitals and medical facilities are used for military purposes such as weapon stores.
UN Security Council Resolution 2286/2016 stressed that attacks intentionally directed against hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided that they are not military objectives, as well as attacks intentionally directed against buildings, material, medical units and transport and personnel using the distinctive emblems of the Geneva Conventions in conformity with international law are war crimes, are war crimes in accordance with the provisions of International Law.
Incidents:
- At Friday midnight, March 10, 2017, at 12:30 am, a projectile targeted the Laboratory & Emergency building at the Military Hospital, located in south eastern Taizz. The projectile destroyed the wall of the second floor, where the laboratory was located, and shattered windows of the entire building. None of the staff, or any of those who were present at the hospital were injured.
In his statement to Mwatana for Human Rights, Abdul Qawi Al-Mahmoudi, the Deputy Director of the hospital, said that the attack was not the first. The attacks have led to the destruction of the most of the hospital’s buildings and equipment.[1]
According to the interviews conducted by Mwatana for Human Rights, the projectile was fired from Al-Hawban area, “Sofitel Hilltop”, which was under the control of the Ansar Allah group (the Houthis) and pro-Saleh forces. The “Sofitel Hilltop” is located about two kilometers to the north of the Military Hospital.
During the site visit, the field team of Mwatana for Human Rights noticed the presence of military reinforcement belonging to the pro-Hadi forces in the vicinity of the hospital, as the armed clashes were raging on at the front line to the east of Taizz City.
On the western side to the hospital, Al-Kuwait School is less than 100 meters away. The 22nd Mechanized Brigade forces – the 1st Sector, which are allied to president Hadi, uses the school as a command center. On the southern side to the hospital, the warehouses of the water project are about 400 meters away, in which armed men from the Abu Al-Abbas Brigades that are affiliated to the popular resistance, are stationed. On the eastern side, a military checkpoint affiliated to the pro-Hadi forces is located about 600 meters. On the northern side, specifically some 50 meters from the gate of the hospital, a checkpoint and a trench – belonging to the pro-Hadi 22nd Mechanized Brigade – are located.[2]
- After midnight on Monday, November 20, 2017, around 01:00 am, one of the personnel of Al-Razi Hospital in Abyan Governorate was beaten by three members belonging to the Security Belt forces.
The hospital staffer was hit with the gun butts, while working on the night shift. According to the statements obtained by Mwatana for Human Rights, the reason for attacking was that the staffer prevented the armed members from entering the Gynecology & Obstetrics Unit, who wanted to attack one of a female doctor they believe that she was the reason behind the death of a relative of a Security Belt officer.
An eyewitness told Mwatana for Human Rights that “the Security Belt forces have turned the hospital into a military barracks, because of their constant presence in it”.[3]
- In the evening of Tuesday, December 12, 2017, around 04:30 pm, an armed group affiliated to the popular resistance attacked the Al-Thawrah General Hospital in Taizz City.
Members of the armed group were aboard four vehicles; they attacked the guards at the hospital’s main gate, stormed into the premises and stopped at the Emergency Unit while they kept on firing their guns and threatening the hospital personnel.
The hospital’s Deputy Director for Administrative Affairs, Waleed Mohammed Al-Himyari, said: “The armed group came to search for two wounded people, who were admitted earlier after being attacked by the same group itself. The group traced the two people to the hospital to eliminate them. A shootout ensued inside, leaving one dead and others wounded, including two guards of the hospital and members of the armed group, before fleeing the scene. The attack resulted in destroying the appliances of the emergency unit, on top of causing fear and panic among the patients and the people accompanying them, and the hospital personnel. It also resulted in aggravating the tension in and around the hospital, in addition to shutting down the entire units of this health facility, except for the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the Inpatient Unit and the Dialysis Center.”[4]
On Sunday, December 17, 2017, some of the units and sections of the hospital resumed operations, while the others resumed on December 20.[5]
Mwatana for Human Rights has documented several attacks on the Al-Thawrah General Hospital in Taizz during 2017. This attack was the latest.
[1]Mwatana for Human Rights interviewed Abdul Qawi Al-Mahmoudi on March 12, 2017.
[2]Mwatana for Human Rights visited the Military Hospital in Taiz on March 12, 2017.
[3]Mwatana for Human Rights interviewed the eyewitness on December 24, 2017.
[4]Mwatana for Human Rights interviewed Waleed Mohammed Al-Himyari on December 14, 2017.
[5]Mwatana for Human Rights interviewed Waleed Mohammed Al-Himyari on March 24, 2018.