YEMEN DATA PROJECT US-UK STRIKES SUMMARY MARCH 2024
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First civilian casualties in US-led strikes in Yemen
One civilian death and 10 injuries recorded as strike rate more than doubles in second month of US-UK bombing campaign
Eleven civilian casualties were recorded in three sperate US-led strikes in Yemen in February, the first recorded incidents of civilian harm since the US and UK launched their bombing campaign Operation Poseidon Archer against the Houthis on 12 January. One civilian was killed and seven injured in a single strike on a telecommunications site in Maqbanah district of Taiz on 24 February. A further 2 civilians were recorded injured in a strike* on a pesticide factory in the capital also on 24 February, with another injured civilian recorded on 2 February in a strike on a farm in the Abs district of Hajja.
Bombing rate more than doubles in February
The month-on-month rate of US-led strikes more than doubled in February to at least 79 strikes from a minimum of 33 in January. The maximum number of individual munitions used similarly rose from 69 in January to 186 in February. Strikes were carried out across seven governorates, all in Houthi-controlled territory. Over 70% of strikes in February were dynamic, targeting pro-Houthi positions, anti-ship missiles, drones, boats or drone-boats. Al-Nahdain Military Camp in the capital was targeted twice by the US/UK in February. The camp was previously targeted at least 215 times with up to 525 individual airstrikes in the Saudi-led bombing campaign from 2015 to 2022.
More nations support Operation Poseidon Archer
The UK is the main partner of the US in the coalition bombing campaign labelled Operation Poseidon Archer. The UK's Royal Airforce is regularly taking part in bombing runs. Since the outset of the campaign in January other supporting nations were listed as Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands. A US CENTCOM statement on 24 February expanded the list of allies backing the joint strikes to include New Zealand and Denmark.
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STRIKES UP 139% FROM JANUARY 2024
CIVILIAN CASUALTIES 11
TOTAL NUMBERS 12 JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2024
CIVILIAN CASUALTIES 11
STRIKES 112
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Up to 186 individual munitions were deployed in the 79 strikes in the month.
On 27 February, a Pentagon official reportedly claimed the US had hit 230 targets in Yemen. YDP has recorded 112 US-led strike incidents from 12 January to the end of February with up to 255 munitions used.
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There were just five days without US/UK strikes in the month, February 11, 12, 18, 25 and 28. A notable change in February was strikes taking place in daylight hours. In January, only two strikes out of 33 in the month were recorded during the daytime. In February, almost a third (25 out of 79) of all strikes were carried out in daylight hours.
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FEBRUARY 2024
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In ten incidents the target was 'unknown/. The four strikes on communication infrastructure were all in Taiz with one of those strikes resulting in eight civilian casualties. The two strikes categorised as hitting farms were both in Abs district of Hajja. The 'other military' category included strikes on missiles, drones, boats and drone-boats.The 'private factory'** was a strike on a pesticide factory in the capital that injured two civilians.
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MOST HEAVILY BOMBED GOVERNORATES FEBRUARY 2024
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Breakdown of districts targeted
Over 65% of all strikes recorded in February targeted Al-Hudaydah governorate. The 52 strikes in Al-Hudaydah in the month was more than double the number recorded in all other governorates combined. As Salif district was the most heavily targeted district countrywide with strikes focusing on Houthi missiles and drone-boats. Bajil and Ad Durayhimi districts were also targeted more than any other governorate. Of the 52 strikes, in eight strikes the target was categorised as 'unknown'. The 44 remaining strikes were on dynamic targets: Houthi missiles (23), drones (3), Houthi positions (12), boats (2) and drone-boats (4).
Sa'ada was the second most heavily bombed governorate in February with seven strikes recorded. Of the four recorded in Sa'ada city, three were recorded as targeting Houthi positions.
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YEMEN CONFLICT OBSERVATORY
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Separate to our air raids data collection, as part of our work to enhance conflict monitoring and data sharing, YDP is collaborating with the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) on the Yemen Conflict Observatory (YCO).
The extensive monitoring effort which has allowed ACLED and YDP to provide the most comprehensive coverage of political violence across Yemen - now including the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden - is published via the joint project of the YCO which launched in February. As Yemen's complex conflict landscape continues to evolve, the YCO is an online platform providing policymakers, practitioners, journalists, and academics with an array of publicly-accessible analytical tools and products. The YCO will combine data-driven analysis with robust qualitative assessments of political violence and disorder to help users stay up-to-date and enable greater awareness of how the status quo is evolving, complemented by providing a deeper contextual understanding of the conflict environment.
This is all made possible by the generous support of our funders, the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and Open Society Foundations.
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FOR MORE DETAILS AND COMMENT PLEASE CONTACT:
Iona Craig (UK) +447446598852 iona.craig@yemendataproject.org
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Note on data collection of U.S. and U.K. strikes
Yemen Data Project's founding purpose is to collect and disseminate data on the conduct of the war in Yemen with the purpose of increasing transparency and promoting accountability. This has been done in the absence of official military records from any of the parties to the conflict. However, in contrast to the previous Saudi/UAE-led air war from 2015 to 2022, the U.S. and U.K. have publicly released information on strikes as they have happened. YDP's data collection is from open sources, therefore U.S. and U.K. government and military statements are now included as sourcing material along with other open sources.
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*Strike refers to a single incident which may be either an airstrike or naval-launched strike. One strike incident includes all strikes on a single location within approximately one hour and therefore may comprise multiple munitions or projectiles being deployed. Munitions deployed per strikes can vary. 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 strike, or any possible change of use over the course of the conflict.
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