February 3rd: A Bloody Day in the Memory of Yemenis and Crimes of Aggression That Will Not Be Forgotten
Every year, February reopens deep wounds in the memory of Yemenis, particularly on its third day, which, over the years of the American-Saudi-Emirati aggression, has witnessed chapters of brutal crimes and horrific massacres against innocent civilians.
From Amran in the north to Taiz in the south, and from Saada in the west to Marib in the east, the blood of children, women, and the elderly has told tales of indelible pain, painting tragic pictures of an aggression that has disregarded all sanctity and law, targeting markets, factories, homes, and roads in a dark record of war crimes that will not be forgotten.
On this day, February 3rd, throughout the years of aggression, the American-Saudi-Emirati warplanes have roamed the skies of Yemen, not to drop roses, but to rain down their fire and bombs on the heads of innocent civilians in their homes and workplaces.
2016: A Year of Unparalleled Catastrophe
On February 3, 2016, a cement factory in Amran Governorate was transformed into a bloodbath after a series of airstrikes killed 15 workers and injured 18 others. In Sana’a, the tragedy was no less devastating; 13 members of a single family, including women and children, were killed when their car was targeted in the Nihm district. Airstrikes also struck bridges, pastures, and farmland in Arhab and Sanhan, revealing a premeditated intent to destroy all aspects of life.
In Hajjah and Hodeidah, casualties were reported from cluster bombs and airstrikes targeting government complexes and airports, while in Dhamar, five children were injured in a direct attack on a public road.
In 2017, the aggression continued its crimes.
February 3, 2017, witnessed one of the most heinous crimes of the aggression, when airstrikes targeted a food warehouse and shops in the city of Mocha, Taiz Governorate, resulting in the deaths of civilians and widespread destruction. Schools were not spared from the bombing; Al-Saeed School was targeted, and internationally prohibited white phosphorus was used in the Dhubab district.
In Marib, an airstrike targeted a civilian’s car, while mercenary missile fire on civilian homes in Harib Nihm resulted in the deaths of two women and a child. In Hodeidah and Saada, there were casualties, and homes and schools were destroyed by indiscriminate airstrikes, while border areas were subjected to intense Saudi artillery shelling.
In 2018 and 2019, the killing machine did not stop.
The aggression continued in 2018-2019, with airstrikes targeting districts in Sana’a, Hajjah, Hodeidah, and Sa’dah. In 2019, a civilian was killed by Saudi border guard fire in the Munabbih district, and a farmer was killed by mercenary artillery shelling in the Ad-Durayhimi district of Hodeidah. The district’s neighborhoods and surrounding areas were subjected to intense shelling with various types of weapons by the mercenaries, in clear violation of all agreements.
In 2020, cluster bombs killed children.
On February 3, 2020, children were once again targeted. Eight-year-old Salma was injured by a cluster bomb explosion in Sa’dah, and another child was killed and a woman injured in a similar explosion in Hodeidah.
The mercenaries continued their shelling of residential neighborhoods and the airport in Hodeidah, while simultaneously establishing new fortifications. Meanwhile, warplanes launched intensive airstrikes on Marib and Al-Jawf.
2021 to 2023: Bombing and Unexploded Ordnance Claim Lives
Even as the pace of the fighting shifted, the bloodshed continued. On February 3, 2021, civilians were killed by Saudi border guard fire in Saada, and airstrikes continued on Marib, Sana’a, Hajjah, and Shabwa. In 2022, a woman was killed and another injured by Saudi artillery shelling in the Qataber district, and communications networks in Shabwa were targeted.
On the same day in 2023, unexploded ordnance injured four people in Al-Jawf, and two civilians were injured by Saudi artillery shelling in Saada. February 3rd remains a day that bears witness to the brutal aggression and ongoing crimes committed against the Yemeni people.
An Undying Memory… and Renewed Resilience
February 3rd is not merely a date on the Yemeni calendar, but a bloody page in the legendary book of resilience of a people who decided not to bow to the storm. Every drop of blood spilled, every child orphaned, every home destroyed, was not just a statistic in news reports, but fuel for an unyielding will and an unbreakable resolve.
While the aggression sought to erase Yemen’s identity, history, and present, these very crimes have etched the reality of this brutal aggression into the memory of generations and solidified a firm conviction in the inevitability of victory. This pure blood will remain a curse haunting the killers and criminals in every forum, and an eternal testament to the oppression of a people and the steadfastness of a nation that will never relinquish its right to life, freedom, and sovereignty.