The Yemeni Center Condemns the Killing of a Woman and Her Unborn Child in Houthi Shelling on Al-Shaqb in Taiz

The Yemeni Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violations and Torture (Will and Hope) condemns in the strongest terms the horrific crime committed by the Houthi militia, represented by the bombardment targeting the Al-Shaqb area in Sabir Al-Mawadim district, southeast of Taiz governorate, which resulted in the death of citizen Maliyah Abduljaleel Mahyoul and the loss of her eight-month-old fetus.

Field documentations and information gathered by the Center indicate that the Houthi shelling struck populated residential neighborhoods, leading to the martyrdom of the victim and depriving her unborn child of life before birth. This tragic incident adds to an ongoing record of attacks and systematic targeting to which civilians in Taiz have been subjected, enduring a siege, artillery, projectile, and sniper fire for years.

The Yemeni Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violations and Torture emphasizes that the deliberate targeting of residential areas and the killing of women and children represent a grave violation of the rules of international humanitarian law and the principles of the Geneva Conventions, which criminalize indiscriminate and intentional attacks against civilians and classify these acts as war crimes and crimes against humanity requiring international investigation and criminal prosecution.

The Center considers the continued fall of civilian casualties, particularly women and children, in Taiz governorate to be a direct result of the absence of deterrent accountability and the silence of the international community in the face of these crimes, which has encouraged the Houthi militia to continue its violations and targeting of civilian objects and innocent residents without deterrent.

Accordingly, the Yemeni Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violations and Torture (Will and Hope) demands that the United Nations, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, and relevant international organizations take a firm and urgent stance to condemn this crime, open an independent and transparent investigation into the ongoing shelling of Taiz, and activate mechanisms of accountability and legal prosecution against the perpetrators and order-givers of these violations to ensure they do not escape punishment.

The Center also renews its commitment to continue monitoring and documenting all crimes and violations committed against civilians across various Yemeni governorates, and to convey the victims’ voices to accredited international forums and mechanisms to achieve justice and provide redress for the affected.

Issued by: The Yemeni Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violations and Torture (Will and Hope) Saturday, September 12, 2026 – Republic of Yemen