Picture for Ala Alghannami in Taiz. The protect of Wednesday March 25, 2015.
individuals from Special Security Forces attacked on Tuesday 24 March 2015 two separate protests in Taiz province in the middle areas of the country. The attack resulted in the killing of at least 8 protesters and the injury of 108 others; with 13 of them having serious wounds.
Radhya Almutawakel, the Chairperson of Mwatana Human Rights Organization, said that “the use of live ammunition and the killing of predominantly peaceful protesters is an indicator that Ansarullah group (the Houthis) and Special Security Forces are disregarding basic human rights. This is an indicator also of the serious deterioration of the status of rights and freedoms in this phase. This requires a serious stand against these grave violations.”
Mwatana Human Rights Organization said that it holds Abdulmalik Alhouthi, the leader of Ansarullah, other leaders in the group, the acting Minister of Interior appointed by the Group Major General Jalal Alrowaishan, the commander of Special Security Forces Major General Abdulrazaq Almarwani and Brigadier Hamoud Alharithi, the commander of the Special Security Forces in Taiz Governorate, accountable for the fatal attacks against protesters by the armed men members of Ansarullah and the soldiers of the Special Security Forces in Taiz.
Mwatana Organization said that according to eye-witnesses accounts and medical sources in five local hospitals which received the dead and injured people in the city of Taiz, five protesters (at least) have been killed and 80 others were injured when the armed men of Ansarullah Group and Special Security Forces opened fire on a peaceful gathering in Alqasr roundabout northwest of the city of Taiz when protesters were seeking to take part in a demonstration against the control of the city of Taiz by Ansarullah.
In a separate attack in Alturba city, southwest of the city of Taiz, four protesters (at least) were killed and 28 others were injured; nine of them seriously, as a result of a deadly attack by members of the Special Security Forces who were located in the perimeter of premises used by Ansarullah as a base. The Special Security Forces were said to have opened fire against a largely peaceful demonstration calling for ending the control of Ansarullah of the province. This account is based on medical sources, injured people, and witnesses who spoke to Mwatana Human Rights Organization.
One eyewitness said to Mwatana Human Rights Organization “we have started gathering at 09:30AM at Alqasr roundabout in preparation to move in a protest against the control of Ansarullah Group of the city of Taiz. Half an hour after that, we have seen groups of people approaching us from the southern entrance of the city of Taiz. At the beginning, we thought that they were protesters who plan to join us. They approached more and then started shooting directly at us from their machine guns. They were wearing civilian cloths and displaying the logo associated with Al Houthi group. Then, individuals from the Special Security Forces, joined them in their attack from the direction of Aljumlah intersection”.
Medical sources have confirmed to Mwatana Human Rights Organization that five dead people arrived to three hospitals in the city after being directly shot. A medical source in Al Thawra governmental hospital said that a dead person has arrived following being hit by a bullet in the chest resulting in his immediate death.
A medical source in Al Rawdha Hospital stated that another person has died after arriving to the hospital with a gun shot in his neck. A medical source at the Yemen International Hospital also stated that two dead people have arrived to the hospital. Eight injured people were hospitalized in five hospitals in the city; with 13 of them having serious injuries as stated by seven doctors to Mwatana.
A medical worker said that Special Security Forces have attacked an ambulance car. “They tried to prevent the ambulance team from evacuating the injured people. A vehicle belonging to Special Security Forces has blocked the way of an ambulance car and security men fired on the car smashing its rear windows”.
A witness said to Mwatana Human Rights Organization:” They shot randomly on us. We were taken aback. They traced protesters to alleys and shot them. I have seen the first person who died as a result of a gunshot in his neck. He immediately died. I have also seen many injured people”. An injured person said “they attacked us directly using bullets. We were in a peaceful protest. We were all armless. Following their attack on us, my colleagues and I tried to throw stones on them. Half an hour after that, I suffered a gunshot in my leg and I was moved to hospital”.
Witnesses in Alturba city, southwest of Taiz city, said to Mwatana Human Rights Organization, that officers of the Special Security Forces have arrived to the city on Sunday 15 March 2015 and started erecting checkpoints. They opened fire from machine guns against a peaceful protest that moved from Alnassr square in the center of Alturba city towards the western entry of the city between 10:30 and 11:00AM Tuesday 24 March 2015.
An eye-witness said to Mwatana: “While protesters were on their way back to the center of the city, officers from Special Security Forces stationed near premises occupied by Ansarullah attacked the protest and shot at them. They pointed their guns towards the protesters and opened fire”.
Sameh Khalid, 17 years old, who was shot in his right knee, said to Mwatana Human Rights Organization, “I am a student in the vocational institute in Alturba. The students of the vocational institute and the faculty of Alturba initiated a protest against the control of Ansarullah on the city of Taiz and Alturba city. We were demanding that they leave. We were peaceful and it was a peaceful protest. However, they attacked us while we were returning. They directly shot us from the back. They used machine guns”.
A medical source in Khalifa Hospital in Alturba city confirmed to Mwatana that at least four protesters have died. A doctor who received the dead and injured people said, “We have received three dead people in the hospital. Their deaths were caused by gun shots. A fourth dead person died on the way to the city of Taiz as rescuers tried to take him there in attempt to save his life. We have also received around 28 injured people; nine of them having serious wounds. One of the injured, Abdulmalik Sultan Abdulrahman has been admitted in the ICU suffering from a serious injury”
