Ten years after launching military operations in Yemen, the Saudi/UAE-led coalition is being urged to take responsibility for extensive civilian harm caused during its campaign. In a statement marking the anniversary of the 26 March 2015 intervention, rights group Mwatana for Human Rights said that thousands of victims remain without redress, justice or reparations.
“For the tenth year, civilian victims are still waiting for the Saudi/UAE-led coalition to assume its outstanding legal, criminal, ethical and humanitarian responsibilities,” said Radhya Al-Mutawakel, Chairperson of Mwatana. She stressed that redress and accountability are essential “for safely moving towards the future without the heavy burden of war.”
Mwatana has documented over 1,500 coalition-led violations, including 1,070 air strikes, 137 ground attacks and other assaults that killed at least 3,859 civilians — among them 1,294 children — and wounded more than 4,300 others. The group said that coalition forces systematically targeted civilian infrastructure including hospitals, markets, water stations and homes.
Despite a lull in air strikes over the past two years, millions of Yemenis continue to suffer from the compounded effects of war and the lack of a comprehensive peace. Al-Mutawakel warned that, “The responsibility will persist until the war ends and peace and stability are fully restored.”
Mwatana also criticised Western support, particularly from the US and UK, which has enabled coalition operations through arms sales and logistical backing, tools that the group links to civilian casualties and infrastructure damage.
The war began when Saudi Arabia launched air strikes on Sanaa to dislodge Houthi-allied armed forces who had ousted President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi during the 21 September Revolution. A decade later, Yemen remains deeply fragmented, with no side victorious and the country left in ruins.
“The Saudi-led intervention in Yemen had one main objective: reversing the Houthi takeover of Sana’a,” said Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN). “It unequivocally failed in that mission. Instead, Saudi military adventurism entrenched Yemeni divisions, exacerbated humanitarian suffering across the country and left Yemen broken as a state.”
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