Landmines in Yemen continue to kill and cause serious injuries to civilians in areas where active hostilities have ceased and are preventing farmers from accessing their land, Human Rights Watch said today. Yemeni law and the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty prohibit any use of antipersonnel landmines under any circumstances. "Houthi forces flouted the landmine ban for years and Yemeni civilians are paying the price as these weapons kill and wound indiscriminately," said Niku Jafarnia, Yemen and Bahrain researcher at Human Rights Watch. "There is an urgent need to step up clearance of landmines to save lives, prevent unnecessary suffering, and ensure people can safely access their homes and livelihoods." Houthi authorities informed Human Rights Watch in April 2017 that they consider the Mine Ban Treaty binding. However, as the war in Yemen continues, the use of landmines has not stopped.
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi announced that his group carried out 8 operations this week using 15 missiles and drones in the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Indian Ocean. In a televised speech today, Al-Houthi stated, "One of the military operations this week was directed towards the Mediterranean Sea," without providing further details. He added his forces have targeted 119 Israeli, American, and British ships since last November.Last week, the group's leader announced that they had initiated operations against ships linked to the United States and Israel in the Mediterranean Sea. Houthis say their operations are in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
A merchant ship off the coast of Yemen reported a missile hitting the water nearby, Britain's sea trade monitoring agency reported on Thursday, adding that the vessel and all crew were safe and proceeding to the next port of call. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said it had received a report of the incident 98 nautical miles (NM) south of Yemen's port city of Hodeidah. The master of the merchant vessel reported that the missile had hit the water near the ship's port side.
Israeli forces killed at least 38 Palestinians in aerial and ground bombardments across the Gaza Strip on Thursday and battled in close combat with Hamas-led militants in areas of the southern city of Rafah, health officials and Hamas media said. Israeli tanks advanced in Rafah's southeast, edged towards the city's western district of Yibna and continued to operate in three eastern suburbs, residents said. Israel says it has no choice but to attack Rafah to root out the last battalions of Hamas fighters it believes are sheltering there.
