Saudi Coaltion's Deadliest Bombing Leaves 156 Dead A single air raid resulted in 206 civilian casualties, marking August as the worst month for civilian casualties in the air war in a year

A Saudi/UAE-led coalition air raid on the night of 31 August resulted in 206 civilian casualties with 156 killed and a further 50 injured is . The bombing of a community college reportedly turned into a detention facility in Dhamar the single deadliest airstrike for civilians since the coalition's air war began in March 2015, exceeding the 137 fatalities recorded in an air raid on a funeral hall in Sana'a on 8 October 2016.



A total of 236 civilian casualties were recorded in August making it the worst month for civilian casualties in the air war since August 2018, despite the lowest number of air raids (89) being recorded in any month since the Yemen Data Project started collating data on the bombing campaign in March 2015. This was also a significant rise in civilian harm from the 3 civilian casualties in 116 air raids recorded in the previous month of July.



All 236 civilian casualties in the month occurred in three air raids. In addition to the Dhamar bombing on 31 August, another mass casualty bombing in Hajja on 10 August left 9 civilians dead, including 2 women and 5 children. A further 18 civilians were injured, including 4 children. The third deadly strike was on a civilian vehicle in Hajja, also on 10 August, that killed one civilian and injured two more.

Coalition bombing of its own forces

The coalition carried out 10 air raids on its own forces, military facilities and territory under its control in Aden, Abyan and Marib in August. Almost a quarter (24%) of coalition air raids on military targets in the month were against their own side .



This series of air raids came as fighters loyal to the UAE-backed On 11 August two air raids in Crater, Aden hit unknown targets. On 20 August an air raid hit a military police camp in Zinjibar, Abyan. This was followed a week later by six air raids on pro-Hadi forces and reinforcements in Aden, Abyan and Marib on 28 and 29 August. An additional air raid hit the Security Headquarters in Zinjibar on 29 August.This series of air raids came as fighters loyal to the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council and pro-Hadi forces vied for control of territory in Shabwa, Abyan and Aden. The UAE later claimed responsibility for carrying out air raids.

CIVILIAN CASUALTIES UP 7,767% ON JULY 2019

AIR RAIDS DOWN 23%



TOTAL NUMBERS MARCH 2015 - AUGUST 2019

CIVILIAN CASUALTIES 18,290

AIR RAIDS 20,079

Saudi/UAE-led coalition air raids fell to an all-time low of 89 in August from 116 in July.

The total number of coalition air raids surpassed 20,000 in August, averaging at least 12 air raids per day since the bombing began on 26 March 2015.

The highest number of air raids recorded in a single month remains September 2015 at 920. This was also the deadliest month in the air war when at least 756 civilians were killed and at least 566 injured.

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 20,077 to a maximum airstrikes of 56,773 since March 2015. Deadliest bombings for civilians in August 2019



Three air raids left civilians dead in August



156 civilian dead, 50 injured

31 August 2019, community college, Dhamar City, Dhamar



9 civilians dead, 18 injured

10 August 2019, civilian house, Mustaba, Hajja

2 women and 5 children amongst the dead. 4 children amongst the injured



1 civilian dead, 2 injured

10 August 2019, civilian vehicle, Bakil Al-Mir, Hajja

AUGUST 2019







In August, 27% of bombings hit civilian targets** 37% hit military targets. In 36% of air raids in August the target could not be identified. Of the 57 air raids where the target could be identified, 42% of bombings hit non-military sites and 58% military. Of the 57 air raids where the target was identified in August 2019 33 hit armed forces, military sites and military moving targets.

15 hit residential areas, resulting in 27 civilian casualties

5 hit farms

2 hit civilian transport infrastructure

1 hit a community college, resulting in 206 civilian casualties

1 hit a civilian vehicle, resulting in 3 civilian casualties Air raids during Al-Hudaydah ceasefire A tentative ceasefire has been in place in Al-Hudaydah since mid-December. No air raids were recorded in the governorate in August - the second month in the air war where zero air raids have been recorded in Al-Hudaydah. Since the A total of 14 air raids have been recorded in Al-Hudaydah since the ceasefire came into force at midnight on 18 December, including 3 air raids on fishing boats.

This is a notable reduction on the pre-ceasefire high of 103 air raids in Al-Hudaydah in November 2018.

MOST HEAVILY BOMBED GOVERNORATES AUGUST 2019

SA'ADA: Breakdown of districts targeted

Sa'ada continues to be the most heavily bombed governorate in the air war. In August, 45 air raids were recorded in the governorate. Sa'ada was the target of 51% of all coalition bombings in August. No civilian casualties were recorded. Kitaf Wa Al-Boqe'e on the northern border was the most heavily targeted district in the governorate with 11 air raids.

Almost a quarter (24%) of all recorded air raids in Yemen since March 2015 targeted Sa'ada. Sa'ada has been the most heavily bombed governorate in Yemen since the Saudi/UAE-led air campaign began. HAJJA: Breakdown of districts targeted

Hajja was the second most heavily targeted governorate in August with 13 air raids. 30 civilian casualties were recorded. The border district of Harad was the most heavily bombed district in the governorate.



Since the declared ceasefire in Al-Hudaydah in mid-December air raids have focused on Hajja and Sa'ada. In August, 65% of all coalition bombings targeted these two governorates . Of the 930 air raids from January 2019 to the end of August, 61% targeted Hajja and Sa'ada.