List of massacres in Yemen

This page lists all massacres occurring in Yemen, both before and after statehood.

List

Name	Date	Location	Deaths	Responsible party	Notes
Al-Waziri coup	1948, February 17 - March	Kingdom of Yemen	5,000 [1]	al-Waziris	Attempted coup d'état by the Al-Waziri clan against dynasty in the Kingdom of Yemen leaves 5,000 dead
1947 Aden pogrom	1947, December 2-4	Aden, Aden Protectorate	82	Arab rioters	Attacks against the Jewish community of Aden following the approval of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine on 29 November 1947
Kawma chemical attack	June 8, 1963	Kawma village	7	Egyptian Air Force	Egyptian chemical attack during the North Yemen Civil War [2] [3]
Kitaf chemical attack	January 15, 1967	Kitaf village	140	Egyptian Air Force	Egyptian chemical attack during the North Yemen Civil War [3] [4] [5]
Taiz shooting	1994, March 25–26	Taiz	23 (including the perpetrator)	Unidentified shooter	A total of 23 people were killed, including the suspect
Sanaa school shooting	1997, March 30	Sanaa	6	Mohammad Ahman al-Nazari	The perpetrator, who believed that his daughter had been molested by school authorities, went on a shooting rampage at the Tala'i Private School, where he walked from classroom to classroom shooting teachers and students alike. After the shooting he left the building for the Musa Bin Nusayr School where he committed another attack. Nazari was sentenced to death and executed on 5 April 1997.
2007 Marib suicide car bombing	2007, July 2	Marib	10	Al-Qaeda	Eight Spanish tourists and two Yemenis are killed and another twelve are wounded in a suicide bombing attack at the Queen of Sheba temple. [6]
2008 Bin Salman mosque bombing	2008, May 2	Bin Salman Mosque, Sanaa	15	Unknown	15 killed and 55 injured in a bombing at the Bin Salman mosque. [7]
Friday of Dignity Massacre	2011, March 18	Sanaa	45	Yemeni Government	Government forces opened fire upon protesters during the Yemeni revolution, killing 45 people and wounding 200. It was the deadliest single event in the uprising. [8] [9]
2015 Sanaa mosque bombings	2015, March 20	Sanaa	142	Islamic State	Militants carried out four suicide bombings at the Badr and al-Hashoosh Shia mosques during prayers
September 2015 Sanaa mosque bombing	September 24, 2015	Sanaa	25	Islamic State	a double suicide bombing was carried out by Islamic State at a mosque in Sanaa, killing at least 25 people
Uqban Island massacre	2015, October 22	Uqban Island, Hodiedah	100+	Saudi Arabia	The Saudi Arabian-led coalition attacked fishermen near the Uqban island, near Hodiedah using attack helicopters. Red Cross reported that possibly up to one hundred fishermen were killed. [10]
Missionaries of Charity attack in Aden	2016, March 4	Aden	16	Unknown
Hajjah market airstrike	2016, March 15	Hajjah	119+	Saudi Arabia	The Saudi Arabian-led coalition launched two separate airstrikes on a crowded marketplace in Hajjah. [11]
May 2016 Yemen police bombings	2016, May 15	Mukalla, Hadhramaut Governorate	47	Islamic State
23 May 2016 Yemen bombings	2016, May 23	Aden	45	Islamic State
June 2016 Mukalla attacks	2016, June 28	Mukalla	43-50	Islamic State
Sanaa funeral airstrike	2016, October 8	Sanaa	143-155	Saudi Arabia	The Saudi Arabian-led coalition bombed a funeral in the capital Sanaa, hitting the crowd with several airstrikes. Around 150 civilians were killed. [12]
Bab-el-Mandeb massacre	2017, March 16	Bab-el-Mandeb	42	Saudi Arabia	The Saudi Arabian-led coalition attacked a Somali refugee boat with attack helicopters. [13]
Dahyan bus airstrike	2018, August 9	Dahyan	51	Saudi Arabia
Dhamar airstrike	2019, August 31	Dhamar	100+	Saudi Arabia	The Saudi Arabian-led coalition bombed a prison complex in Dhamar with six separate airstrikes, killing more than 100 civilians.
2022 Saada prison airstrike	2022, January 21	Saada	87+	Saudi Arabia	Saudi airstrike on a prison in Saada kills at least 87 people and injures 266
2020 Aden airport attack	2020, December 30	Aden	28	Houthis
2024 al-Bayda bombing	19 March 2024	Radda District, al-Bayda governorate	12-20 [14]	Houthis	Victims included nine from the same family.
20 July 2024 Israeli attack on Yemen	20 July 2024	Al Hudaydah	14+	Israel	On 20 July 2024, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched an attack on Hudaydah Port in Al Hudaydah, Yemen. The attack damaged a power generating station, an oil refinery, fuel storage facilities belonging to the Yemen Petroleum Corporation (YPC), and port cranes. Israel claimed it targeted weapon storage facilities. 14 people were killed, including 12 port employees and more than 90 were injured, many with severe burns. [15]
26 December 2024 Israeli attack on Yemen	26 December 2024	Al Hudaydah Governorate and Sanaa	6	Israel
2025 Saada prison airstrike	2025, April 28	Saada	68	United States	United States bombed a detention center, killing at least 68 who were all African migrants.

References

1. "CSP - Major Episodes of Political Violence, 1946-2012". Archived from the original on 21 January 2014. Retrieved 2011-09-22.
2. Schmidt (1968), p. 257
3. "Egyptian CW Attacks on Yemen" (PDF). Nuclear Threat Initiative .
4. "Why the brutal war in Syria exposes the global cant on chemical weapons". The Indian Express. 2017-04-06. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
5. "The Tenuous Taboo: Egypt, ISIS, and Chemical Weapons in the Middle East". www.diplomaticourier.com. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
6. "bomb kills Spanish tourists". BBC News. 2 July 2007. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
7. "Deadly blast strikes Yemen mosque". BBC News. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
8. "Unpunished Massacre: Yemen's Failed Response to the "Friday of Dignity" Killings - Yemen | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. Retrieved 2022-09-23.
9. "Unpunished Massacre: Yemen's Failed Response to the "Friday of Dignity" Killings". 2013-02-12.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
10. "Were Saudi Arabia's Apache Attack Helicopters Really Used 'Defensively' in Yemen War?". The National Interest.
11. "Yemen conflict: 'Dozens killed' in strike on Hajja market". BBC.
12. Thorbecke, Catherine (2016-10-13). "US-Made Bomb Used in Airstrike on Funeral in Yemen, HRW Says". ABC News. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
13. "Saudi-led coalition blamed after helicopter gunship massacres Somali refugees". The Independent . 18 March 2017.
14. Center, South24 (2024-03-19). "20 civilian casualties in Houthi bombings in Al-Bayda". South24 Center. Retrieved 2025-03-29.
15. "اليمن.. ارتفاع حصيلة قتلى الغارات الإسرائيلية إلى 14 قتيلا | سكاي نيوز عربية". www.skynewsarabia.com. Retrieved 2025-01-02.