Yemen Data Project: Collating data on political violence and Saudi coalition air raids.

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CEASEFIRE UPDATE APRIL 2020
WEEK TWO

Bombings Escalate In Second Week of Declared Ceasefire

Saudi-led coalition air raids increase by over 30% in second week of a two-week ceasefire

In the second week of the ceasefire (midday 16 April to midday 23 April), Yemen Data Project recorded at least 34 air raids* with up to 164 individual airstrikes. This was a rise in bombings of (31%) almost a third from the reduced number (26) seen in the first week, taking air raids in the second week closer to the 44 weekly average of bombings seen in 2020 prior to the ceasefire and after an undeclared de-escalation ended in mid-January. No civilian casualties were recorded in airstrikes during the two-week unilateral ceasefire.

Governorates targeted

Air raids reached a near three-year high in Marib during the second week of the unilateral ceasefire. Bombings have not been higher in a single week in Marib since May 2017. Air raids more than doubled in Al-Jawf on the first week of the ceasefire as well as increasing in Sa'ada.
During the two weeks, coaltion air raids targeted the governorates of: Marib (24), Al-Jawf (16), Sa'ada (8), Sana'a (7) - outside the capital, Hajja (2), Amran (1), Al-Bayda (1) and Al-Hudaydah (1).
In air raids where the target could be identified, 5 bombings hit civilian targets in the two weeks.
Majzar in Marib and Khab Wa Al-Sha'af in Al-Jawf were the most heavily bombed districts during the two weeks. 42% of all air raids during the unilateral ceasefire hit these two districts.

Ceasefire extension

The two-week ceasefire ended on Thursday, 23 April with no air raids recorded on 22 April, or during the morning of 23 April. On Friday, 24 April the Saudi-led coalition reportedly extended the unilateral ceasefire for one month coinciding with the holy month of Ramadan. The initial two-week unilateral ceasefire was not negotiated with pro-Houthi forces and there was no indication of a reduction in fighting on the ground on the main frontlines of the conflict in the period. The Houthis rejected the Saudi-led declaration in early April and on 23 April appeared to reiterate that sentiment, reportedly rejecting "any fragmented solutions or agreement". Efforts remain by the UN Special Envoy, Matin Griffiths to achieve "a comprehensive, nationwide, mutually agreed ceasefire".

After an undeclared de-escalation ended in mid-January, air raids averaged 44 per week in 2020 prior to the two-week ceasefire in April.

FOR MORE DETAILS AND COMMENT PLEASE CONTACT:
Iona Craig (Yemen) +967 736693365 iona.craig@yemendataproject.org

Fighting on the ground

Fighting also continued in the ground war during the two weeks of the ceasefire. Separate to our air raids data collection, as part of our work to enhance conflict monitoring and data sharing, Yemen Data Project contributes countrywide data on political violence and violence in the ground war to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. This extensive monitoring effort has allowed ACLED and YDP to provide the most comprehensive coverage of political violence across Yemen.

ACLED's methodology on casualty counting differs from Yemen Data Project's air raids data. See here for more details on ACLED's methodology and coding decisions used in their data collection.

Forward

*Air raid refers to a single incident. One air raid incident includes all air strikes on a single location within approximately one hour and therefore may comprise multiple airstrikes. Airstrikes per air raid can vary greatly from a couple to several dozen. In YDP's data the air raid figure is the most conservative. The true number of individual airstrikes in the air war ranges from the minimum of 20,934 to a maximum airstrikes of 59,641 since 26 March 2015 to the 23 April 2020. Read more.

Copyright © 2019 The Yemen Data Project. All rights reserved.

For further information on the Yemen Data Project please visit www.yemendataproject.org or contact the project's spokesperson, Iona Craig: iona.craig@yemendataproject.org

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