Human Rights Report: Houthis Impose Siege and Forcibly Displace Hundreds of Civilians in Ma’wiyah, Taiz
Yemen Monitor/Newsroom:
SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties has documented an escalation of Houthi violations against civilians in Ma’wiyah district of Taiz governorate during 2025. The organization noted that siege, forced displacement, home raids, and arrests have become a systematic policy targeting entire villages and causing severe humanitarian tragedies.
The report mentioned that the siege on villages like Jabal Tansim and Al-Wabaid has deprived residents of medical care, directly leading to the death of a woman named Fahmiya Shayif Mosaad. She bled for six hours during childbirth without her family being allowed to transport her to a hospital.
The report also documented the displacement of 183 families—at least 1,281 people—from the villages of Al-Najd, Al-Akhram, and Al-Ta’nah in Hawamira sub-district, and Al-Farasha in Khadir district, to high-risk areas such as Warzan, which contains missile launch platforms and military positions. This has exposed their lives to the risk of direct targeting.
Abdul-Jabbar Al-Sarrari, the director-general of the district, confirmed that these violations included the arrest of teachers and local council members, the forced use of some displaced people in military activities, the deprivation of children’s education, and restrictions on civilian movement that have isolated local communities.
The report stated that these actions constitute grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and amount to war crimes, including forced displacement, deadly siege, and using civilians as human shields. It called on the United Nations and the International Criminal Court to open an urgent investigation and hold those responsible accountable.
The report also recommended sending humanitarian teams to provide emergency aid, immediately lifting the siege, ensuring freedom of movement, and systematically documenting the violations to present them to the relevant international bodies.
The report concluded by emphasizing that the events in Ma’wiyah represent one of the most heinous examples of the conflict in Yemen, where civilians have become hostages to Houthi policies of siege, forced displacement, and use as human shields, in a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.
The report added, “The death of Fahmiya Shayif Mosaad and the uprooting of hundreds of families are not isolated incidents but part of a systematic pattern that threatens the social fabric. SAM affirms that protecting civilians is a legal and moral duty that requires urgent international action to hold those responsible accountable and provide justice for the victims.”
