Bombing Rates at Six-Month High as Violence Surges in Marib
Air raid on civilian vehicle kills seven including three children
Air raid numbers in September rise to the highest monthly rate since March. Individual airstrikes recorded in the month are at the highest in a year.
Pro-Houthi military advances on the ground in the governorate of Marib matched a 25% month-on-month increase in air raids in Marib (89), a monthly rate surpassed only twice in the governorate - in September last year and in September 2015 - since the start of the air war in March 2015. Bombings in Marib covered districts on the frontline to the west of the governorate capital, on a north-south axis. The southernmost districts of Al-Abdiyah, Harib and Al-Jubah saw a notable rise in air raids* amid reports of pro-Houthi advances into southern Marib and northern Shabwa.
Sirwah was once again - for the ninth consecutive month - the most heavily targeted district countrywide with 29 air raids recorded in September. Yemen Data Project recorded air raids in Shabwa for the first time since January 2019.
Countrywide, air raids* rose by 32% month-on-month to 157 in September, the highest monthly rate since March. Up to 711 individual airstrikes were recorded in September, the highest monthly maximum since September 2020.
Following two months with no civilian casualties recorded in bombings, at least seven civilians were killed and a further two injured in air raids in September. The deadliest air raid was the bombing of a civilian vehicle in the Markhah Al-Olya district of Shabwa on 18 September, killing seven civilians including three children and one woman.
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AIR RAIDS UP 32% ON AUGUST 2021
CIVILIAN CASUALTIES UP FROM 0 IN AUGUST
TOTAL NUMBERS MARCH 2015 - SEPTEMBER 2021
CIVILIAN CASUALTIES 18,625
AIR RAIDS 23,627
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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.
In YDP's data the air raid* figure is the most conservative. The true number of individual airstrikes ranges from the minimum of 23,627 to a maximum airstrikes of 69,551 since March 2015.
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SEPTEMBER 2021
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In September, 20% of bombings hit civilian targets** and 12% hit military targets. In 68% of air raids in September the target could not be identified. Of the 49 air raids where the target could be identified, 65% hit civilian targets. 35% of identifiable targets were military. 41% of identified targets were residential areas.
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MOST HEAVILY BOMBED GOVERNORATES SEPTEMBER 2021
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MARIB: Breakdown of districts targeted
Marib continues to be the most heavily bombed governorate. 57% of all Saudi-led coalition air raids in September targeted Marib. Sirwah was the most heavily bombed district in the country for the ninth consecutive month with 33% of air raids in the month in Marib hitting the district.
Air raids concentrated on the frontlines of the ground war and the pro-Houthi advances in southern Marib. Bombings in the southern districts of Harib, Al-Abdiyah and Al-Jubah were at the highest rates in at least six months. Nine air raids recorded in Al-Jubah represented the highest monthly bombing rate in the district since the air war began. Harib saw the greatest number of air raids since September 2015.
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SA'ADA: Breakdown of districts targeted
Monthly air raid numbers in Sa'ada have fluctuated throughout 2021 from a monthly low of at least 11 air raids in May to at least 34 in both January and June. The 29 bombings recorded in the governorate in September was a 26% rise from the 23 recorded in August. For the second consecutive month, the western border district of Al-Dhaher was the most heavily bombed district in the governorate. 75% of all air raids in the month hit the governorates of Marib and Sa'ada.
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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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