The Gulf Centre for Human Rights calls on authorities to hold to account the perpetrators of the attack on Aden International Airport that left at least 25 dead, including Yemeni journalist Adeeb Al-Janani.
This statement was originally published on gc4hr.org on 4 January 2021.
On 30 December 2020, three mortar shells targeted the terminal at Aden International Airport, minutes after the arrival of a plane carrying members of the new Yemeni government that reports to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who resides in Saudi Arabia. Among the victims were one journalist who died and ten others who were wounded.
The Minister of Public Health and Population in the government of President Mansour announced on Twitter that the number of casualties from the attack on Aden airport is 25 dead and 110 wounded, and added in his tweet that, “The number is expected to increase due to the seriousness of some cases in Aden hospitals.”
Among the victims was journalist Adeeb Al-Janani, a correspondent for the Belqees satellite channel, according to local reports which stated that he was killed after being hit by shrapnel in the abdomen, while he was at the southern gate of Aden airport. A video clip showed the station’s announcer listening to his coverage of the arrival of the new Yemeni government, and during his conversation and dialogue with the broadcaster, the first explosion occurred and the communication between them was cut off.
Al-Janani’s colleagues described him as a persistent and courageous journalist who continued his journalistic work despite the great dangers. A public funeral was held on 2 January 2021 in his hometown, Taiz. After his funeral, a number of his fellow journalists carried out a protest that condemned the continued violations of the media in Yemen.
In addition, the Minister of Information in the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi announced in a tweet that there were ten other journalists who were wounded by the attack.
Among those injured was journalist Sadiq Al-Ratibi, a correspondent for the Yemen Satellite Channel, who suffered a severe injury to his foot and is in urgent need of special and immediate health care.
The Red Cross in Yemen, which has been working in the country since 1962, announced on its Twitter account that three of its employees died in the attack. They are: Dr. Hamid Al-Qadimi, who was about to travel to complete his doctoral study, radiologist Kair Anja, who is from Rwanda, and Ahmed Iqbal Wazir, the coordinator of air transport activities. In adition, three other employees were injured.
Among the injured is a spokeswoman for the Red Cross in Yemen, Yara Khawaja, who suffered various wounds that required her to be hospitalised. She is of Lebanese origin and was on the last day of her mission in Yemen. On 29 December 2020, the day before the attack, she wrote on Twitter: “I have never been used to the tragedy that this beautiful country retains. The responsibility was weighing on my shoulders every time, as all the media platforms in the world are humble to tell the suffering of Yemenis. To you all the wishes for the most beautiful reality you deserve.”
The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) shares the grief of the families of the victims, and wishes the wounded a speedy recovery. GCHR condemns in the strongest terms this attack on a civilian facility and calls on the authorities to make every effort to identify all those involved and bring them to a fair trial.
