Yemen Monitor/Special Writings:
Houthi militias launched a barrage of artillery and drone strikes on the village of “Hanaka Al Masoud” in the Quraishiya district of Qifah, Rada’a, Baydha governorate, following an incident where one of their teams came under fire from young men resentful of the practices of security officials and supervisors affiliated with the militia.
The attack resulted in the death and injury of 13 civilians, including women and children, in a preliminary toll, as well as the destruction of homes, places of worship, and property, and the imposition of a tight siege on the residents, preventing the evacuation of the wounded and the entry of food supplies to those under siege.
The Yemeni Ministry of Human Rights said in a statement that: “Targeting innocent civilians by Houthi militias using explosive drones and tanks, resulting in the death and injury of 13 civilians, including three women, as well as preventing the evacuation of the wounded and the destruction of a number of homes and places of worship, and the displacement of hundreds of families, constitutes a war crime.”
It affirmed that: “This targeting amounts to a war crime and reflects the criminal nature of the Houthi militias, which do not hesitate to target innocent civilians indiscriminately and implement a violent sectarian agenda aimed at spreading fear and terror among the civilian population and reinforcing their bloody approach.”
Concurrently, 115 Yemeni human rights organizations condemned the heinous crimes committed by the Houthi militia since Thursday, January 9, 2025, against civilians and civilian neighborhoods in the village of Hanaka, Al Masoud tribe, in Qifah Radaa area of Baydha governorate, central Yemen.
The organizations explained in a joint statement, published yesterday, Friday, that “the Houthi attacks resulted in the killing and wounding of 13 civilians, including women and children, and the crimes also included a tight siege on the village and airstrikes, in addition to preventing the wounded from receiving medical care, and the destruction and burning of places of worship and property,” noting that “hundreds of families were forced to flee under the weight of the siege and shelling.”
The organizations said that the militia escalated its military escalation by sending large reinforcements to the area and arresting a number of residents on fabricated charges, and also cut off water, food, and medicine for the residents of the village, which exacerbated the humanitarian situation, especially among children and the elderly, in the absence of any urgent international response.
The organizations described the violation as a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions, amounting to war crimes, calling on the international community and the United Nations to take urgent steps to stop these violations and pressure the Houthis to lift the siege immediately.
Political parties and organizations in Al-Baydha governorate also condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist crimes committed by the Iranian-backed Houthi militias against civilians and civilian objects in the Hanaka Al Masoud area of the Quraishiya district of Qifah in Al-Baydha governorate.
The political parties in Baydha affirmed that the tight siege imposed by the Houthi group on the area and the targeting of civilian homes and residential neighborhoods with drones and various heavy weapons is a complete war crime that cannot be time-barred; calling on the international community, the United Nations, and the Security Council to intervene urgently and take decisive measures against this terrorist group, including classifying it as a terrorist organization.
The political parties in Al-Baydha said in their statement that: “This heinous crime is only one of the terrorist crimes of the Houthi group against the people of Al-Baydha governorate and an extension of the bloody approach and behavior of the militias in all parts of Yemen, as well as a true embodiment of the nature of these militias.”
The political parties held the Houthi group fully responsible for these heinous crimes committed against civilians from the people of Al-Baydha governorate; calling on the Presidential Council and the legitimate government to take a firm and immediate stance and move urgently to liberate Al-Baydha governorate from this fascist terrorist group that has spread corruption in the land and destroyed crops and people.”
Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani denounced the continued silence of the international community regarding what the Houthi militias are doing against innocent people, explaining this on his X platform page by saying: “We are surprised by the continued silence of the international community regarding the brutal crimes that the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist militia continues to commit against innocent civilians, the latest of which is the brutal attack with various types of weapons and heavy machinery, and the suffocating siege it imposes on the village of “Hanaka Al Masoud” in “Qifah” in the Quraishiya district of Al-Baydha governorate.”
He added, “Despite the atrocities that the world is witnessing under this ongoing Houthi aggression against civilians, the international community still deals with these horrific violations with a state of complete silence, which reflects a failure to assume responsibility for what is happening in terms of war crimes and human rights violations.”
He added, “The silence of the international community is not limited to turning a blind eye to these crimes and violations, but rather reinforces the sense of injustice among the victims and increases their suffering. Therefore, the world today is required to act urgently to apply justice and protect the innocent from the tyranny of the militia, and restore hope that justice will take its course and that the killers and criminals will not escape punishment.”
He continued, “The continuation of this silence encourages the Houthi militia to continue its aggressive policies without deterrence, which doubles the suffering of civilians.”
He stressed that the international community “must assume its responsibilities by acting seriously in the face of these crimes, and proceeding to classify the militia as a “global terrorist organization”, and bringing its leaders to international courts to be tried for the serious violations they have committed against human rights and war crimes.”
Dr. Mohammed Jumaih wrote, “The Houthi militia is going through a state of great anxiety, suspicious of everything, wary of everyone, and imagining a conspiracy at all times, searching for supposed spies among those who have been deprived of their salaries for many years, pursuing former employees in diplomatic missions who were supporting their families who were left to the fate of millions of hungry people in Yemen.”
He added in a post on the X platform ,”They are pursuing those they call takfiri, and bombing the homes of citizens in Rada’a with drones, seeing a conspiracy in women’s clothing stores, and pursuing flower shops, because “imported ideas” are seeping into people through flowers, and they are fighting these ideas, the militia will fall, and it is more than anyone else who sees its fate, and its vision of this fate pushes it towards this pathological behavior that brings it closer every day to its inevitable fate.”
Genocide
On X (formerly Twitter), lawyer Mohammed Al-Maswari wrote: “A Houthi attack on Al Masoud in Qifah, using drones and tanks, has put around eight thousand citizens of Al Masoud at risk of genocide.”
He added, “The Houthi militias are launching the most violent missile and artillery attacks with all kinds of weapons on a small besieged village that has been calling for help for days. Unfortunately, no one is listening. The Houthis are now torturing women and children and demolishing houses over the heads of their inhabitants.”
Al-Maswari appealed to the honorable people of Yemen, saying: “Rise up to help them, O free men of Yemen, for by God, the circle will come to everyone, and the crimes of the Houthis will pass over everyone. Everyone must unite. The Houthis raise the slogan of Haifa in Palestine and bomb Qifah.”
The honorable people of Qifah have confronted this Houthi hostility and have come out, brandishing whatever weapons and equipment they possess, defending their land and honor from this invading enemy.
The political activist and member of the Supreme Council of the Yemeni Tribal Union, Ahmed Abdo Rabah Abu Surima, one of the sons of Qifah, expressed his pride and the steadfastness of the people of Qifah, saying: “Our mothers did not bear us to be hated so that the traitors would trample on our dignity while we are lying down and our dignity is not held hostage by anyone. To the fields with our personal equipment, and whoever apologizes for the lack of equipment, we tell him that your equipment is no less than the equipment of those who are fighting now inside their besieged villages.”
Continuous Violations
In turn, the Minister of Awqaf and Guidance, Dr. Muhammad bin Ayda Shabibeh, wrote that “the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist militia has continued for the fifth consecutive day its heinous crimes against innocent civilians in the Hanaka Al Masoud area of the Quraishiya district of Qifah Radaa in Baydha governorate, in parallel with a tight siege imposed on the residents using various types of weapons, including drones and artillery shells, and even houses of God (mosques) have not been spared, and civilians have been killed and wounded.”
He added in a tweet posted on the X platform: “The Houthi militia is delving deeper into the blood of Yemenis and is becoming more terrorist, arrogant, and criminal towards the citizens whenever it senses an international and regional desire to achieve peace in war-torn Yemen.”
A State of Confusion
Poet Abu Jawas al-Abab wrote: “The targeting of civilians in Qifah by the Houthi militias reflects the state of despair and confusion they are living in. The free people of Yemen will not kneel to their destructive projects, and their demise, by God’s will, is now near through the will of the free and the determination of the heroes.”
Journalist and writer Hamdan al-Ali’i wrote on his X platform page: “The Houthi gang is launching a savage attack on Qifah in Baydha, using missiles, cannons, tanks, and drones against civilians… inhabitants of small villages. The scene has been repeated since 2014, and the gang that wants to subjugate Yemenis with tanks, drones, and the weapon of starvation will not succeed, even if it wins in a round here or there.”
