HUDAYDAH, 3 December 2020 — UNMHA condemns the reported killing and injury of civilians as a result of shelling of the Thabit industrial complex in Hudaydah earlier this evening. The killing of civilians must stop.

UNMHA urges the parties to use the mechanisms established in Stockholm two years ago to maintain the ceasefire and avoid any further suffering to the people. The loss of civilian life shows again the futility of the combats in the Hudaydah governorate and demonstrates that humanitarian law must be respected by all parties to the conflict to spare civilians from becoming caught in the deadly violence.

In addition to being a working factory servicing the population and providing employment, the site of the industrial complex is being considered as one of the possible locations of an UNMHA office to foster de-escalation and the maintenance of the ceasefire. This latest incident demonstrates the urgent need to advance demilitarisation on the frontline.