Coalition Bombings Reach Two-Year High
Air raid numbers in first half of 2020 reverse three-year decline in bombings
Bombings in the first half of 2020 bucked the downward trend in Saudi-led coalition air raids seen since mid-2017, more than doubling the rate of the previous six months and marking a significant escalation in the sixth year of the coalition's air war in Yemen.
Yemen Data Project recorded 271 air raids in June - the highest monthly rate since July 2018 - bringing the number of bombings in the first six months of the year to at least 1,088 air raids* with up to 4,141 individual airstrikes. This was 139% increase in the rate of air raids from the previous sixth months (456) of the second half of 2019. January to June 2020 is the first half-year period with rising air raid numbers since the first half of 2017.
Civilian casualties trebled to 26 in June from 9 in May. Half the civilian casualties in the month were the result of a single Saudi-led coalition air raid on a civilian vehicle in Sa'ada on 15 June that killed 13 civilians including 4 children. Five days earlier, on 10 June, 3 civilians were killed in Sa'ada when the vehicle they were travelling in was bombed. On 25 June, an air raid on Qaniyah market in Al-Bayda killed 5 civilians.
For the second consecutive month bombings were concentrated in the five governorates of Marib, Sa'ada, Al-Jawf, Hajja and Al-Bayda. Marib was the most heavily targeted. Only in September 2015 have there been more air raids in a single month in the governorate.
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AIR RAIDS UP 43% ON MAY 2020
CIVILIAN CASUALTIES UP 189%
TOTAL NUMBERS MARCH 2015 - JUNE 2020
CIVILIAN CASUALTIES 18,461
AIR RAIDS 21,418
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The highest number of air raids recorded in a single month remains September 2015 at 920, which was also the deadliest month in the air war when at least 756 civilians were killed.
April 2015 saw the highest number of civilian casualties (fatalities and injured) in a single month at 1,745.
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JUNE 2020
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In June, 12% of bombings hit civilian targets** 19% hit military targets. In 69% of air raids in June the target could not be identified. Of the 85 air raids where the target could be identified, 38% of bombings hit civilian sites. 62% of identifiable targets were military.
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Of the 85 air raids where the target was identified in June 2020
- 18 hit residential areas. injuring five civilians including 2 children and 1 woman.
- 2 hit civilian vehicles, killing 16 civilians including 4 children and 1 woman.
- 2 hit farms.
- 1 hit a market place, killing 5 civilians.
- 1 hit a customs deport in Al-Bayda.
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MOST HEAVILY BOMBED GOVERNORATES JUNE 2020
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MARIB: Breakdown of districts targeted
Air raids in Marib continued the high rate seen since February, reaching a record high in June with 84 air raids - only in September 2015 have there been more air raids in a single month in the governorate. Majzar district in Marib was the most heavily bombed districts in the country in June with a notable high of 52 air raids in the district - an intensity of bombing not seen in a single district since 2017.
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SA'ADA: Breakdown of districts targeted
Bombings in Sa'ada reached over 40 in June for the second consecutive month since October 2019. Sa'ada remains the most heavily bombed governorate in the air war. Although in the first half of 2020, Al-Jawf and Marib were the most heavily targeted with 47% of all bombings hitting the two governorates.
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AL-JAWF: Breakdown of districts targeted
Reflecting events in the ground war, air raids in Al-Jawf have remained high since January, making Al-Jawf the most heavily bombed governorate in the first half of 2020 with 262 air raids. Almost a quarter (24%) of all countrywide air raids from January to June targeted Al-Jawf.
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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.
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FOR MORE DETAILS AND COMMENT PLEASE CONTACT:
Iona Craig (UK) +447446598852 iona.craig@yemendataproject.org
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*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. Read more.
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**Non-military targeting may be an indication of fighting taking place in urban areas resulting in the possible change of use of buildings and/or escalated targeting of civilian sites. The dataset lists target category and subcategory for each incident, where information on the target is available. When listing permanent structures the target category refers to the original use of the target e.g. a school hit by an air raid is referred to as a school building with no further assessment made on its use at the time of the air raid, or any possible change of use over the course of the conflict.
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