Period: October 8–10, 2026
SAM for Rights and Liberties said that recent military and security developments in Taiz Governorate and along Yemen’s western coast reveal an alarming escalation in threats to civilian lives and safety, amid reports of shelling targeting populated villages, the killing of a young girl and another civilian, and injuries sustained by members of the girl’s family. These developments have been accompanied by an expansion of armed clashes and the laying of landmines and explosive devices in vital areas and along key roads near Bab al-Mandab.
These developments coincide with a United Nations warning issued on October 9, 2026, about Yemen’s return to full-scale war, rising displacement levels, civilian casualties, and worsening humanitarian needs in several governorates, particularly Taiz. SAM stresses the need to investigate the reported incidents, protect civilians and civilian objects, and prevent vital roads and transport corridors from becoming persistent threats to civilian lives.
On October 10, 2026, journalist Fares Al-Hemiari, citing local residents, reported that the Houthi group had carried out indiscriminate shelling of residential villages in the Al-Shaqab area of Sabir Al-Mawadim District, in rural Taiz Governorate. The shelling coincided with ongoing clashes on the outskirts of the area between the Houthi group on one side and government forces and the Popular Resistance on the other.
Published information indicates that the shelling struck populated areas, raising concerns about residents’ safety and the security of their homes and property as armed clashes continued near residential communities. The initial report did not provide a specific casualty figure or details of the damage caused by the October 10 shelling.
The Al-Shaqab area had also been subjected to mortar shelling on October 9, killing a child, Mohammed Abdullah Abduh Muqbil, and a woman, Dhikrayat Abdulwahid Ahmed Yahya, and injuring six other civilians, according to Al-Masdar Online. The outlet reported that the shells landed near residential homes, while the Taiz Military Axis Media Center indicated that the shelling followed armed clashes in the area.
On October 8, Ahmed Al-Bakari reported that four-year-old Nesma Mohammed Ghaleb had been killed and her seven-year-old sister, Basma, and their mother injured by gunfire attributed to a Houthi sniper in the Shahran area of Nimrah subdistrict, Jabal Habashi District, western Taiz Governorate.
The incident raises serious concerns about attacks against children and women in residential areas and the violation of the rights to life and physical integrity resulting from firing at civilians. It warrants an independent investigation into the location and circumstances of the shooting and the identification of those responsible.
On the same day, Mohammed Al-Haidari published information concerning the killing of Abdulkarim Qasim Hassan Al-Buraihi, 58, an Islamic education teacher at Al-Yarmouk School in the Al-Mahsha area of Jabal Habashi District. His killing was attributed to Houthi-affiliated gunmen.
Providing further details, Al-Mushahid Net quoted Mohammed Amin Al-Buraihi, the victim’s nephew through his sister, as saying that Houthi gunmen stormed the teacher’s home after taking control of the area and shot him in front of his children and family members, despite the fact that he was unarmed and had not engaged in any confrontation with them, according to his relative’s account.
The available information indicated that the incident generated fear among local residents, amid gunfire near residential homes. If it is established that the victim was deliberately killed while not directly participating in hostilities, the incident may constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian law and warrant accountability for those responsible.
On October 8, journalist Fares Al-Hemiari reported that the Houthi group had intensified its attacks, accompanied by heavy artillery and rocket shelling, against residential villages in Jabal Habashi District. He added that the clashes had expanded to the Al-Shariq area following the group’s entry into the residential villages of Al-Aduf and Al-Armah.
These developments indicate that military operations are spreading toward rural residential communities, endangering homes, farmland, and local roads while increasing the risk of displacement and disrupting residents’ movement and access to essential services.
SAM warns that continued military operations within or near villages, coupled with the use of explosive weapons close to residential homes, may result in additional civilian casualties and extensive property damage, particularly in areas where residents face difficulties leaving safely.
On October 9, journalist Baseem Al-Janani, citing a military source, reported that the Houthi group had extensively planted landmine fields in the Bab al-Mandab area over the preceding weeks. These reportedly included explosive devices concealed inside concrete blocks and booby-trapped concrete structures positioned along the main road on both its northern and southern approaches.
On October 8, Al-Masdar Online published video footage that it said documented hundreds of landmines planted by the Houthi group during its control of areas in Dhubab District. Additional footage showing landmine clearance operations was also circulated.
The circulating materials also included a video published by Taha Saleh on October 9, which he said showed landmines planted by the Houthi group along the western coastal front, as well as another video presented as documenting landmines in a different area.
These materials point to potential risks for civilians, vehicle movement, commercial transport, and humanitarian operations, particularly given reports of explosive devices placed along major roads. Nevertheless, conclusively verifying the filming locations and dates, the types of explosives involved, and the party responsible for laying them requires independent technical and field examination.
SAM stresses that the indiscriminate use of landmines and explosive devices, or their placement in locations where they unlawfully endanger civilians, violates the rules protecting civilians. The presence of explosive remnants of war on roads and in populated areas may pose serious threats long after hostilities have ended, necessitating the identification and securing of contaminated areas, landmine clearance, and public warnings to prevent residents from approaching dangerous locations.
On October 9, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg, during a briefing to the Security Council, warned of the country’s return to full-scale war and the expansion of hostilities across multiple fronts. He noted intensified fighting in the highlands west and south of Taiz city, areas extending into Lahj Governorate, as well as Marib, Al-Jawf, and Hajjah.
During the same briefing, Mohammed Yahya, Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator at the United Nations, reported that more than 200,000 people had been displaced across Yemen since the beginning of August 2026, marking the highest level of new displacement since the 2022 truce. He added that approximately 4,000 people had fled across the Bab al-Mandab Strait to Djibouti and Somalia amid escalating hostilities, depleted household resources, and deteriorating livelihoods.
SAM considers that the incidents outlined in this briefing reflect interconnected risks facing civilians in Yemen, including shelling with explosive weapons, killings inside homes, sniper fire, the expansion of military operations into populated areas, the laying of landmines and explosive devices, and worsening displacement and restrictions on movement and humanitarian assistance.
The organization emphasizes that international humanitarian law requires all parties to the conflict to distinguish between civilians and combatants, and between civilian objects and military objectives. It prohibits attacks directed against civilians, as well as indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, and obliges parties to take all feasible precautions to avoid or minimize civilian harm.
Furthermore, the killing of persons who are not directly participating in hostilities, including civilians inside their homes, may constitute a war crime if deliberate killing is established and the relevant legal elements are met. Incidents involving sniper fire and shelling that have affected children and women likewise require independent investigations to establish responsibility.
Regarding landmines and explosive devices, SAM stresses the need to comply with the rules prohibiting indiscriminate attacks and requiring feasible precautions to protect civilians, while prioritizing the removal of explosives from roads and areas used by residents in their daily movements.
The organization warns that the expansion of fighting into areas surrounding Taiz city and the Bab al-Mandab Strait could disrupt vital roads and transport corridors and obstruct humanitarian supplies, compounding the effects of the conflict on the population, particularly displaced persons, children, women, and patients.
SAM for Rights and Liberties calls on the Houthi group to immediately cease attacks targeting civilians and civilian objects, refrain from shelling villages and residential neighborhoods or using explosive weapons in ways that endanger civilian lives, and strictly comply with the rules of international humanitarian law.
The organization also calls for independent and transparent investigations into the killing of Nesma Mohammed Ghaleb and the injuries sustained by her sister and mother, the killing of teacher Abdulkarim Qasim Hassan Al-Buraihi, and the shelling incidents in Al-Shaqab. It urges the identification of those responsible for any violations, accountability, and redress for victims and their families.
SAM further urges an immediate survey of areas and roads where landmines and explosive devices have reportedly been planted, particularly in Dhubab, Bab al-Mandab, and the western coast. It calls for clearly visible warning signs, safe routes for civilian movement, and accelerated explosive ordnance clearance operations in cooperation with relevant humanitarian and technical organizations.
The organization calls on all parties to the conflict to protect civilian roads and transport corridors, ensure unhindered humanitarian access without unlawful restrictions, facilitate medical evacuations and the movement of displaced persons, and avoid military measures that could isolate residential communities or deprive them of essential services.
SAM urges the international community and relevant United Nations mechanisms to strengthen monitoring and investigations into violations affecting civilians in Taiz and along the western coast, intensify humanitarian assistance for displaced and affected populations, and ensure the continued delivery of aid to areas affected by fighting.
SAM concludes by emphasizing that protecting civilians and civilian objects, preserving humanitarian routes and corridors, clearing landmines, and ensuring accountability for violations are urgent legal and humanitarian obligations. Continued escalation without effective measures to protect the population risks worsening the humanitarian crisis and increasing the number of casualties and displaced persons.