The Ministry of Human Rights condemns in the strongest terms the horrific crime committed by the terrorist Houthi militias in targeting Amr ibn al-As Secondary School in the Malbiyah area of Al-Mudarabah and Ras Al-Arah District, Lahj Governorate, with two missiles that landed inside the schoolyard at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, 23 September 2026. According to documentation by the Ministry, the attack resulted in the death of three civilians and the injury of four others, in addition to causing extensive damage to the educational facility and its premises.
The Ministry affirms that the impact of the two missiles within the school grounds, in a residential area densely populated by local residents and displaced persons, demonstrates the gravity of this targeting and compounds the seriousness of the crime, particularly as the school is located in an area where no military operations are taking place and is tens of kilometers away from the nearest frontline. This negates the existence of any justification for targeting it and places this incident within a series of direct attacks affecting civilians and civilian objects in safe areas.
The Ministry of Human Rights confirms that its teams documented, at the site of the incident, the scale of destruction inflicted on the school. The two missiles left two large craters inside its yard, while shrapnel struck classrooms, laboratories, offices, and various facilities, causing damage to equipment and furniture and turning an educational institution that should serve as a safe space for education and protection into a scene of destruction and fear.
This crime does not occur in isolation from a series of serious incidents and repercussions that have affected the education sector since the escalation of hostilities at the beginning of this September. On 5 September, the Ministry of Education announced that the Education Office in Hays District, Al-Hudaydah Governorate, had been subjected to a missile attack carried out by the terrorist Houthi militias. Meanwhile, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on 16 September that the escalation since 3 September had led to the closure or suspension of classes in 243 schools and affected more than 137,000 male and female students. In Jabal Habashi District of Taiz Governorate alone, local education authorities reported the suspension of classes in 29 schools located in areas of confrontation and nearby areas, only a few days after the start of the new 2026–2027 school year.
These incidents confirm the scale of the serious impact of the escalation on the education sector, which is not limited to the physical damage inflicted on schools and educational facilities, but also extends to the disruption of the educational process and the deprivation of tens of thousands of children of safe access to their schools, at a time when educational institutions should be kept neutral and protected from the effects of hostilities.
The Ministry views the targeting of Amr ibn al-As Secondary School as a dangerous extension of the policy of targeting civilian objects and areas to which displaced families have fled to escape the recent waves of escalation, and as an attempt to spread fear and panic among civilians and displaced persons and undermine the foundations of life and essential infrastructure in local communities.
The Ministry stresses that schools, educational facilities, and civilian objects enjoy the protection afforded under the rules of international humanitarian law, and that directing attacks against civilian objects amounts to a war crime requiring accountability and an end to impunity.
The Ministry of Human Rights, while condemning this crime in the strongest terms, affirms that the continued targeting of civilians, educational facilities, and areas where displaced persons are gathered, in the absence of a firm international response proportionate to the gravity of these violations, is unacceptable, and that merely issuing statements of concern and general condemnation is no longer sufficient in the face of repeated attacks and their widening impact on civilians.
The Ministry calls upon the international community, the United Nations, organizations, and relevant national mechanisms to take immediate action to monitor, document, and explicitly and clearly condemn this crime; to fulfill their legal and moral responsibilities in protecting civilians and civilian objects; to exert genuine pressure to halt these attacks; and to ensure that those responsible are held accountable and that perpetrators of grave violations do not escape punishment.
The Ministry affirms that it will continue its monitoring, documentation, and verification of all violations affecting civilians and civilian objects, refer documented cases to the competent national authorities, and communicate them to the relevant international bodies, in a manner that ensures the preservation of victims’ rights and strengthens pathways toward accountability and redress.
Issued by the Ministry of Human Rights
Aden | 25 September 2026
