African Migrants Attacked by Houthi Group and Led to Unknown Destination

A human rights source reported that a number of African migrants were attacked and beaten by Houthis in Al-Jawf governorate. “The migrants were beaten with sticks, including women, in Al-Matoon district and then they were transferred to an unknown place in a military truck,” said Ashwaq Al-Maqtari, a member of the National Commission of Investigations into Allegations of Human Rights Violations.  

The government accused the Houthi group of exploiting the African migrants and forcibly sending them to the battle fronts.

The director of the Human Rights Office in Al-Jawf, Abdel-Hadi Al-Assar, said in a statement to Belqees that the Houthi group held thousands of African migrants in the governorate.

Al-Assar stated that the Houthis committed grave violations against the migrants who come from the Horn of Africa, forcing them to join the fighting and trenching on the fronts.  

In a joint human rights report issued by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor and SAM, it was reported that smugglers practice the most heinous methods of torture against African migrants in Yemen, in total disregard of their fundamental rights and human dignity.