Perennial Ordeal of the Forcibly Disappeared in Yemen

War crimes committed since the war broke out in Yemen are countless, and civilians have to bear the brunt since 2015. The enforced disappearance is an example of criminal conduct that has killed many civilians, tortured many others, and saddened numerous families across the country.

Since last year, the momentum of war has waned, bringing relief to millions of families across the country. However, the misery of the enforced disappearance has not ended. Dozens of Yemeni citizens continued to be forcibly disappeared, and their families have not stopped weeping as they ask about the whereabouts of their loved ones.

The latest example of the enforced disappearance crime happened in May this year when Ansar Allah (Houthi) fighters stormed a peaceful gathering of Baha'is in Sanaa. According to Amnesty International, Houthi members detained and forcibly disappeared 17 individuals, including five women. So far, the fate and whereabouts of 16 of them remain unknown.

In 1941, Adolf Hitler was the first to adopt the enforced disappearance to torture his opponents. Today, the parties to the conflict in Yemen continue to utilize Hitler's approach, showing no mercy to their victims.

In August this year, the Abductees Mothers Association said the ordeal of the forcibly disappeared in Yemen continued unresolved, pointing out that about 9568 civilians have been kidnapped since the war began in 2015. Thousands of them have been released. However, dozens of civilians have been forcibly disappeared, and no accurate details about them have not emerged.

According to the association, 73 civilians are still forcibly disappeared by the Houthi group, while the Southern Transitional Council (STC) still detains 61 Yemeni civilians, and no details are available about their destiny. Three civilians are still forcibly disappeared by the internationally recognized government. One journalist has been in Al-Qaeda terrorist group's jail, and no information has been provided about his whereabouts. Joint Resistance Forces have forcibly disappeared two civilians on Yemen's western coast.

With the country's continued geographic and political fragmentation, the ordeal of the forcibly disappearing is set to continue, and the warring sides will persist in using this approach to torture civilians.