Yemen: Students among 29 People Killed or Injured as Casualties Surge in Marib

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (Nov. 1, 2021)—At least 29 people, many of them students, were killed or injured in an attack in Marib late Sunday, according to information from Save the Children’s local partner, making October the deadliest month for civilians so far this year in the province.

In October, more than 54 incidents of armed violence affected people in and around Marib resulting in more than 119 casualties, including at least 23 deaths of which at least five were children—more than double the number of casualties recorded in any other month this year.

A six-year war in Yemen and ensuing economic collapse has caused what the UN says is the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis, with 16 million people now facing acute food insecurity.

The latest attack was on a mosque and religious school, according to the Internationally Recognized Government Information Minister. It was not clear exactly how many people had been killed with conflicting reports over the fatalities.

Save the Children’s Country Director, Xavier Joubert, said:

“We are speechless when facing this level of horror witnessed by civilians in Yemen. The world needs to come together to make sure that civilians in Yemen do not continue to pay a heavy toll for the hostilities in the country.

“Children continue to be killed across Yemen as innocent bystanders to a conflict that has claimed the lives of many, displaced even more, and destroyed the country’s infrastructure.

“Measures need to be taken by all to insulate civilians from the impact of the conflict, protecting schools, hospitals, and other civilian sites from attacks.

“We do not want to enter another year with the children of Yemen paying the heaviest price, and we need to make sure that they are protected in times of hostilities.”

Since the beginning of September, Marib has seen a sharp increase in fighting.  Almost 10,000 people were displaced in the region last month alone, the biggest wave of displacement recorded in a single month this year. In total, more than one million displaced people live in and around Marib with nowhere to go.

Save the Children is calling on parties to the conflict to abide by their obligations under International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law. They should protect the civilian populations from the horror of the ongoing violence, limiting the use of explosive weapons in populated areas as they risk severe harm to civilians, especially children, and take immediate, practical, measures to reduce their impact on civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Save the Children has been working in Yemen since 1963, implementing programs in education, child protection, health and nutrition, water and sanitation, and emergency response across most of the country.