Yemen: Since the early days of 2015, the US-Saudi aggression has launched indiscriminate attacks on Yemen, resulting in the deaths, displacement, and destruction of homes and infrastructure of its people. Over the past nine years, both military and civilian targets have been hit, regardless of whether the victims were children, elderly, men, or women.

Key events of April 17 across the years:

April 17, 2015: Bombing of Al-Haffa Area During Friday Prayers

On this date, US-Saudi planes targeted the densely populated Al-Haffa area in Sana'a during Friday prayers, causing widespread panic. The attack, which included 15 missiles, resulted in casualties and significant material damage to homes, vehicles, and shops. The survivors spoke out defiantly against the aggression, vowing resistance and condemning the acts as criminal.

One stated, "By Allah, you will not frighten us; we will defend our land," while another remarked on the continuous threats, saying, "Their raids and massacres will not intimidate us; we refuse to surrender our country."

The Al-Haffa neighborhood remains one of many that have been recurrently targeted by the aggression over the years, as part of what appears to be a strategy to displace residents.

Attack on the Republican Palace in Taiz

Later the same day, the focus shifted to Taiz, where the Republican Palace, a civilian facility, was heavily damaged by coalition airstrikes. The attacks instilled fear and forced many residents to flee, with local eyewitnesses denouncing the coalition's actions as devoid of Islamic values and indicative of a deep-seated hatred for the Yemeni people.

A local eyewitness condemned the attack, stating, "These people show no respect for human or religious bonds in their aggression against us. Their attacks manifest their profound disdain for the Yemeni people."

Criticizing the justifications of the coalition’s actions, he continued, "We did not provoke them, yet we face such brutality. Their actions, alongside their allies, reveal their true intentions."

These events are illustrative of the broader pattern of attacks affecting civilians in Yemen, raising significant humanitarian and legal concerns.

April 17, 2018: Two Martyrs, 6 Injured in the Targeting of a Historical Fortress

The continuous crimes of aggression year after year were starkly evident on April 17, 2018, when the US-Saudi aggression targeted the historical Masar Fortress. This attack destroyed a village of 350 families. It also struck telecommunications towers in the Manakhah district of Sana'a province with 13 raids, resulting in two female martyrs and six injuries, including several miscarriages induced by the shock experienced by the mothers.

Eyewitnesses from the Yemeni Red Cross, who arrived at the scene to assist, reported that the crime was horrific and that the route for delivering aid was extremely rugged and difficult. The attack led to the displacement of villagers due to the destruction of their homes and the intensity of the raids on the historic village of Masar Fortress and the communications facilities, further isolating the local population from contact with medics and rescuers.

An observer noted, “The primary targets of these raids were the homes of innocent people, to annihilate the Yemeni people by destroying their livelihood and progeny, turning them into rubble that reveals the brutality of the perpetrators. The ruggedness of the targeted area compounded the suffering of the injured and delayed the possibility of transporting the wounded to nearby hospitals.”

Mohammed Al-Shabati, a survivor of the raids, recounted, "The US-Saudi planes completely destroyed my home, rendering it uninhabitable after it was targeted by three consecutive raids, while my family and I were under the rubble."

Another survivor added, "The raids were continuous on the location, and we were searching for children and women under the rubble, which reinforced in us terror and despair for life, as we acted heroically, ready for martyrdom in the name of Allah."

He also mentioned that after communications were cut off, they had to carry the wounded on their backs for distances, then use motorcycles and any cars they found along the way. "These raids on our homes target human life and bury childhood, so for what sin were they killed?"

One of the survivors stated, "After the first strike on the fortress, women and children, due to fear and terror, fled from their homes with their livestock outdoors, but everyone was shocked by the second missile that followed them and bombed their gathering place, killing my wife and two children, and injuring some of the children."

A villager's grocery store, which also served as food storage, was completely destroyed by the aggression, and the domestic gas cylinders inside it exploded, burning its contents and the food worth 3 million Yemeni riyals.

Another citizen mentioned, "My house, where my 90-year-old mother lived along with our livestock, was bombed in a raid that led to its destruction, and today we are displaced with no shelter."

An elderly survivor, leaning on her cane with her bent posture and frail body, stood among the ruins, recounting the details of the crime with a heartbroken voice and a crushed spirit, saying, "The raids of the aggression continued on us all day, so we left our homes and headed towards the farms, and by the grace of Allah, we escaped certain death."

"The House of God and His Book were strategic targets in this crime that killed children and women and destroyed citizens' homes, revealing the extent of the tragedy and the ugliness of the criminals."

350 families from a single village had their lives turned from safety and tranquility to absolute hell. They were displaced by the enemy from their village after most of their homes were destroyed, with two women martyred and six others injured, and several fetuses miscarried from the wombs of their mothers due to fear and panic.

April 17, 2018: Targeting of the Crusher Building in Sa'adah

On the same day of the year 2018, the US-Saudi aggression targeted the crusher building belonging to the Roads Authority in Al-Azqoul in the Sahar district of Sa'adah Governorate.

The targeting destroyed the workers' housing, their kitchen, and the conversion of the facility into piles of rubble. It also destroyed the adjacent asphalt road with several airstrikes, reflecting the systematic targeting of Yemen's infrastructure and all the essentials of life, halting its progress, and cutting off the livelihoods and sustenance of the people.

The crusher, affiliated with the Roads Authority, stands as a witness among dozens of other scenes where the aggression targeted Yemeni state institutions and the public interests of the Yemeni people, throughout the nine continuous years of aggression.