January 7: A Date That Tells the Story of Crimes That Do Not Expire by Statute of Limitations
January 7 was never an ordinary date in the timeline of the war on Yemen. Over the years of the US–Saudi–Emirati aggression, it has become a blood-soaked milestone marked by recurring crimes against civilians—from targeting villages, schools, and markets to the destruction of infrastructure, farms, and telecommunications networks. A day whose events encapsulate the nature of this war: a systematic aggression that draws no distinction between child and woman, nor between home and school.
2016: Airstrikes Hit Villages and Civilian Infrastructure
On this day in 2016, coalition warplanes committed a massacre in the village of Dahran in Bura District, Hodeidah Governorate, resulting in martyrs and wounded. Simultaneously, airstrikes targeted Ibb, Sana’a, and Saada, hitting residential neighborhoods, farms, telecommunications networks, and public facilities—extending to the targeting of the Maydan al-Sabeen platform and the People’s Mosque in the Capital Municipality.
2017: Schools and Mosques Under Fire
January 7, 2017 marked one of the darkest chapters with the targeting of Al-Hussein bin Ali School, a nearby mosque, and an ambulance in Al-Haymah Al-Dakhiliyah, leading to the killing of civilians, including children. The bloodshed expanded to Amran, Marib, Taiz, and Saada, where cluster munitions were used against homes and farms—constituting a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.
2018: Markets and Farms Bombarded
In 2018, crimes continued with the shelling of markets and farms in Saada, Hajjah, Marib, Al-Jawf, and Hodeidah. Border areas were subjected to Saudi missile and artillery fire, while airstrikes hit civilian facilities, underscoring the coalition’s insistence on destroying the foundations of daily life.
2019: The Remnants of Death Speak
The year 2019 recorded civilian deaths and injuries caused by explosions of cluster munitions left behind by the aggression, alongside waves of airstrikes and heavy artillery shelling on Sana’a, Saada, and Hodeidah. Residential neighborhoods and farms were targeted, leaving widespread destruction of property.
2020: Escalation by Mercenaries and Indiscriminate Shelling
In 2020, mercenary forces intensified artillery and missile shelling on neighborhoods and villages in Hodeidah, while new military fortifications were established. Meanwhile, the Saudi army continued shelling border villages in Saada, confirming the ongoing direct targeting of civilians.
2021: Shells Encircle Homes
In 2021, civilians in Taiz were injured by mortar shells, alongside airstrikes on Saada and border areas, and heavy artillery escalation in Hodeidah that struck residential neighborhoods and populated areas.
2022: Roads and Markets in the Line of Fire
On January 7, 2022, civilians were targeted on public roads by airstrikes. The governorates of Shabwah, Marib, Saada, and Hodeidah were subjected to intense air raids and artillery and missile shelling, causing significant damage to citizens’ homes and farms.
2023: War Remnants Continue to Claim Lives
The sequence concluded in 2023 with new victims falling due to explosions of war remnants in Marib, the targeting of civilians with guided missiles, and the continued surveillance flights and shelling in Hodeidah.
A Systematic War Against the Yemeni People
From 2016 to 2023, January 7 presents a concentrated record of crimes that were neither incidental nor random, but part of a systematic war targeting the Yemeni people—their lives, security, and livelihoods. The memory of this day is not mere documentation; it stands as a living testimony to international responsibility that does not lapse with time.