HUDAYDAH (Dispatches) – The rapes of six minor girls in Yemen’s western coastal province of Hudaydah have provoked outrage in the country after it was learned that Takfiri terrorists, supported by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have perpetrated the horrendous crime.
Local media outlets, citing informed sources who asked not to be named, reported that the crimes took place several days ago in the al-Juwayr and al-Suwaihra areas of the Hays district.
The sources added that a chorus of outrage has erupted across the areas, with local residents demanding the immediate expulsion of UAE-backed mercenaries.
The support for the accused has added insult to injury and sparked a massive wave of anger.
The Entesaf Organization for the Protection of Women’s and Children’s Rights vehemently condemned the rapes in the strongest terms, stating that all forms of sexual violence are rejected by the international humanitarian law and that all states are obliged to prosecute the perpetrators.
It said in a statement that Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, adopted in August 1949, prohibits rape or any form of sexual assault, and calls for the protection of civilian persons in times of war.
The organization went on to denounce the continued international silence on the crimes, blaming the inaction of the United Nations and all its bodies for the perpetration of these heinous acts and their negative repercussions on the Yemeni society.
It underscored that the rapes fall into the category of war crimes and crimes against humanity, calling on civil society organizations, media outlets, and human rights activists to expose violations and atrocities being committed by the Saudi-led coalition against Yemeni children and women.
The report came as a Yemeni military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Sunday the Saudi-led coalition forces and their allied militants have violated a UN-brokered ceasefire at least 178 times during the past 24 hours.
The official said the violations included 87 flights of armed Saudi-led reconnaissance aircraft in the skies of the provinces of Ma’rib, Ta’izz, Hajjah, al-Jawf, Sa’ada, Dhale, al-Bayda as well as border areas.
Saudi Arabia launched the devastating war on Yemen in March 2015 in collaboration with its Arab allies and with arms and logistics support from the U.S. and other Western states.
The objective was to reinstall the Riyadh-friendly regime of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and crush the Ansarullah resistance movement, which has been running state affairs in the absence of a functional government in Yemen.
While the Saudi-led coalition has failed to meet any of its objectives, the war has killed hundreds of thousands of Yemenis and spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.