Human Rights Report Documents Thousands of Houthi Violations Against Health Sector Over Eight Years
Yemen Monitor – Newsroom:
The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms announced it has documented approximately 5,423 violations committed by the Houthi group against health facilities and healthcare workers between 2017 and 2024.
In an official statement, the Network clarified that the violations included the direct killing and injuring of medical staff and paramedics, in addition to the arrest and enforced disappearance of doctors and nurses, carrying out field executions and physical assaults, as well as closing health facilities and hospitals and targeting them with mortar, artillery, and Katyusha rocket fire.
The Network stated that 62 killings were documented, including 29 doctors, 14 nurses, and 19 ambulance drivers. The causes of death ranged from direct gunfire, landmine explosions, sniper fire, and random shelling of health centers.
The report also recorded 87 injuries among medical personnel and ambulance drivers.
The Network added that its monitoring team documented 167 cases of arrest and kidnapping, most occurring while the victims were in hospitals or clinics, alongside 19 cases of enforced disappearance.
It also documented 240 violations targeting health facilities, 732 cases of closures and raids on health centers, hospitals, and private clinics, along with 229 cases of partial destruction and 36 cases of total destruction due to shelling.
The report confirmed 65 cases of looting and tampering with medical aid, 12 cases of bombings, and 29 cases of direct targeting of ambulances. Additionally, it documented 689 cases of looting government ambulances and using them for military purposes in several provinces.
The Network pointed to the closure of 1,107 pharmacies and the looting of 18 medicine warehouses, in addition to the dismissal of 569 medical and administrative staff. It noted that the militias forced private hospitals to provide free medical care to Houthi wounded, imposed monthly tributes, appointed judicial guards, and looted medical aid to be sold on the black market.
