A Yemeni human rights watchdog on Monday released a report documenting violations committed by Iran-backed Houthi militias between January and November, 2018, noting that the war-torn country is rife with human rights atrocities trending since the nationwide coup in 2014.
The Human Rights Information and Training Center, based in Yemen’s southwestern Taiz province, said Houthis have been consistently engaged in appalling human rights violations.
The militias have been bent on reshaping Yemeni demographics, the national Arab identity and stoking sectarian strife, especially in Taiz, it added.
Published on the 70th anniversary of the International Human Rights Day, the report revealed that in Taiz alone “Houthi militias killed at least 134 civilians and injured 310, including 62 women and 13 children.”
Houthi militias carried out at least 17 massacres against Taiz citizens, the report added.
The Center documented 15 kidnappings, with civilian victims mostly being abducted by the dozens when Houthi militias raid nearby villages and neighborhoods. At least eight accounts of encroachments against freedom of the press have been also registered.
Houthi militias “forcibly displaced 619 families, destroyed about 45 public properties and 211 private properties in Taiz.”
The report pointed out that Houthis “have acted out in violation of human rights several times and against all segments of society,” whether it be women or children.
Discrimination and persecution characterizes the Iran-backed group’s actions, especially in “areas experiencing the scourge of war,” it added.
Civilians in Houthi-held territory are subject to killing, torture and food scarcity. They are also denied the right to education and face forced recruitment.
