The Ministry of Human Rights condemns in the strongest terms the heinous terrorist crime committed by the terrorist Houthi militias on Monday evening, when they targeted a gathering and shelter for displaced persons in Raghwan District, north of Marib Governorate, with a ballistic missile, resulting in the death of two children, one aged seven and the other five, and the injury of fifteen civilians, including eight children.
The Ministry affirms that targeting gatherings of displaced persons, children, and peaceful civilians constitutes a grave crime and a blatant violation of the rules of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. It reflects a deliberate disregard for civilian lives, particularly those of the most vulnerable groups, foremost among them children and displaced persons who had already been forced by the war to flee their areas and homes.
The Ministry stresses that this crime is not an isolated incident, but rather comes within the context of a dangerous and systematic military escalation pursued by the terrorist Houthi militias, including the targeting of cities, residential neighborhoods, civilian areas and facilities, and positions of the armed forces in a number of governorates. This has resulted in civilian casualties and the displacement of thousands of families, amid the absence of a firm international position consistent with the gravity of these violations and the threat they pose to the lives and security of civilians.
The Ministry also holds the terrorist Houthi militias fully responsible for this crime and for the worsening humanitarian consequences resulting from their military escalation, due to their repeated targeting of civilians, civilian objects, and camps and gatherings of displaced persons.
In this context, the Ministry of Human Rights expresses its surprise at the statement issued by the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Yemen regarding the recent developments and the calls it contained for an end to military operations, while failing to include a clear and explicit condemnation of the escalation initiated by the terrorist Houthi militias and the violations against civilians that accompanied it, despite the continuation of this escalation for several days and the resulting casualties and widespread displacement of families from their areas. The Ministry affirms that the protection of civilians should not be linked to changes in the course of military operations or developments on the ground, but should instead constitute a consistent position from the very first moment violations occur.
Calls for de-escalation and an end to escalation should not obscure the reality of who initiated the escalation or place on an equal footing those responsible for the attacks and those carrying out their duty to protect the population and respond to them. United Nations positions concerned with peace and the protection of civilians should also be based on facts on the ground and the rules of international humanitarian law, and should address clearly the violations affecting civilians and civilian facilities, regardless of who commits them.
The Ministry calls on the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and all other relevant international bodies to adopt clear and consistent positions regarding violations committed against civilians, and to work to document and investigate them and determine responsibility, in a manner that ensures that perpetrators of crimes and violations do not escape accountability. It further affirms that any serious and sustainable efforts to achieve peace in Yemen cannot be based on ignoring violations or obscuring responsibility, but rather on protecting civilians, respecting human rights, ending the causes of violence, and ensuring accountability for crimes and violations.
Issued by: Ministry of Human Rights
Aden | 8 September 2026
