المملكة: "Incident assessment team" Explains the fact that residential units were targeted in Hodeidah Governorate

Issued by Joint Incident Evaluation Team Statement regarding the allegation of Coalition Forces targeted (housing units) for employees of the Electricity Company in (Al Hali) District in (Hudaydah) Governorate on (03/26/2022 AD).

The following is its text: With regard to what was stated in the memorandum of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights that at (3:00) in the morning on (03/26/2022 AD), two air strikes targeted (housing units) built of wood and zinc for employees The Electricity Company in Al-Hali District in Al-Hudaydah Governorate resulted in the complete destruction of (6) residential units on Jizan Street, (coordinates for the claim site are attached).

The Joint Accident Evaluation Team researched and investigated the facts about the occurrence of the incident, and after reviewing all the documents, including the order Air missions, daily mission inventory, mission execution procedures, post-mission reports, satellite imagery, rules of engagement for coalition forces, principles and provisions of international humanitarian law and its customary rules, and after evaluating the evidence; The joint team found that the coordinate mentioned in the claim is located on (Jizan) Street in the northern part of the city of (Hudaydah).

Military actions

By studying the air missions carried out by the coalition forces on (03/26/2022 AD), which is the date mentioned in the claim, the joint team found that intelligence information had been received by the coalition forces indicating that the armed Houthi militia had seized a specific site and was using it for military manufacturing. It contains foreign experts to support the war effort, in the city of Hodeidah in Hodeidah Governorate, which is considered a legitimate military target whose targeting brings a tangible, direct and definite military advantage, given that the site has fallen from the prescribed legal protection, due to its use in effective contribution to military actions, based on Article (52) of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions, and Rule (8) of customary international humanitarian law.

Degrees of verification are available through monitoring the site by ground sources, which It confirmed that the armed Houthi militia had seized the site, used it for military manufacturing, and contained foreign experts to support the war effort, in the city of Hodeidah, based on Rule (16) of customary international humanitarian law.

Therefore; At (3:00) in the morning on (03/26/2022 AD), the coalition forces carried out an air mission on a legitimate military target, which is (a site seized by the armed Houthi militia, which is used for military manufacturing, and there are foreign experts inside it to support the war effort), on (a specific coordinate) in the city of (Al-Hudaydah) in (Al-Hudaydah) Governorate, using two guided bombs that hit the target.

Implementation of the operation Military

The coalition forces took possible precautions to avoid causing incidental losses or damage to civilians and civilian objects, or in any case reduce them to a minimum, during the planning and implementation of the military operation, through the following:
1. Use two precision-guided bombs, proportional to the size of the military target.
2. Choose the appropriate time, late at night, to ensure that there are no civilians present.
3. Ensure that there are no civilians present before and during the targeting operation.
Based on Article (57) of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions, and Rules (15) and (17) of customary international humanitarian law.

Military target location

The specialists of the joint team studied satellite images of the military target location, and found the following:
1. The military target consists of (two buildings) and is located in the northern part of the city of Al-Hudaydah in Al-Hudaydah Governorate.
2. The presence of traces of air strikes on the military target.
3. The military target is approximately 220 meters away from the coordinate stated by the claim, which is a safe distance and outside the range of side effects of bombs.
The specialists of the joint team studied the satellite images of the coordinate mentioned in the claim after the date mentioned in the claim, and the following was found:
1. The coordinate mentioned in the claim is located on (Jizan) Street, surrounded by a fence, and known as (the General Electricity Corporation in Hodeidah), and contains a number of buildings: (two zinc buildings, a large building, and a small building).
2. There are no traces of air strikes on the alleged site.
3. There are no traces of air strikes on the buildings adjacent to the coordinate mentioned in the claim and located on Jizan Street.

The executed air mission

By comparing what was stated in the claim with the executed air mission, the joint team found the following:
1. The location in question is not compatible with the location of the air mission carried out, as the military target is approximately 220 meters away from the coordinate provided by the claim, which is a safe distance and outside the range of side effects of bombs.
2. The claim’s description (housing units) does not match the type and description of the military target (a site seized by the armed Houthi militia and used for military manufacturing and where there are foreign experts).
In light of this; The Joint Incident Evaluation Team concluded the following:
1. The validity of the measures taken by the coalition forces in dealing with the legitimate military target (a site seized by the armed Houthi militia and using it for military manufacturing and where there are foreign experts to support the war effort), in the city of Hodeidah, on 03/26/2022 AD, and that they are consistent with international humanitarian law and its customary rules.
2. The coalition forces did not target (residential units) for the employees of the Electricity Company in (Al-Hali) District in (Al-Hudaydah) Governorate, on (03/26/2022 AD), as stated in the claim.

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