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Rights group: Houthis create ‘death crossing’ in Taiz

December 7, 2016 at 8:45 pm

A wounded man takes medical treatment at the es Sevre hospital in Taiz, Yemen on November 17, 2016 [Abdulnasser Alseddik/Anadolu Agency]

Houthi and Saleh militias are stopping the transport of vital supplies using the Adduhai crossing, the only accessible crossing to reach the besieged eastern city of Taiz, Yemeni human right’s watchdog SAM Observatory said in a report.

“Houthi and Saleh elements practiced all forms of control over Adduhai crossing including control people’s lives and foodstuffs where they banned entrance of basic life needs including food, water, oxygen and cooking tanks. Unarmed civilians were also subjected to violations to movements and freedoms, humiliations [and] collective punishment,” the group said in the report.

In total ,SAM Observatory documented 311 violations of human rights by Houthi and Saleh forces in the Adduhai crossing, including 29 killings. They said 187 people sustaining injuries due to Houthi and Saleh aggression and 25 cases of torture.

They have also looked into reports of sexual harassment and have found eight known cases of women being sexually harassed. Though, they stressed that the overall number of sexual assaults will remain ambiguous due to the taboo around women speaking up.

The Adduhai crossing was one of the most prominent crossings into Taiz for Houthi and Saleh forces to implement the siege on Taiz. Capturing the crossing on 25 March 2015 led to their subsequent capture of the city and the besiegement of over half a million people.