The Saudi army takes a policy of emptying the border villages on the Yemeni side of its residents as a means of pressure in its war on Yemen. Al-Maatiq village in Shada border district of Sa’adah governorate was subjected to direct bombardment by the Saudi army artillery. One of the Saudi shells fell on the house of Suleiman Ali Mitab Al-Walidi. In this incident, four children were killed and wounded.
As a witness of this crime, Y. ‘A. M. recounts the ugliness of the horrible situation he has seen. He says that at noon that day I heard an explosion, turned around, and saw smoke and dust arising from Suleiman’s house. Then, I heard the screams of children and women from inside the house. People rushed to the house and I too hurried with them. I managed to pull out the little child Shabib, Suleiman’s son, who was in critical condition, and his little face was stained with blood. Then, the people were able to get out some of those who were under the rubble of the house. However, we could not help them, as there was no means of transportation. All drivers of means of transportations avoid coming to the border villages because of the frequent bombarding of these villages by the Saudi army and their air strikes. We tried our best to carry them on our backs and walked with them through a long way. Unfortunately, we lost the lives of children and women on the way. They were killed by the artillery shelling of the Saudi army.
“We are civilians, and there is no military front in our region. This is a war crime committed by the Saudi regime, and it must be held accountable, put on trial, and punished with the most severe penalties,” Y. ‘A. M. added.
