News Center — The pace of Houthi escalation in Yemen has increased in recent days, with the expansion of attacks affecting populated areas, causing casualties and mass displacement, amid growing documentation of violations against civilians and fears of worsening humanitarian conditions on the western coast.

The Taiz Human Rights Center revealed yesterday, Friday, September 11, the killing of 139 people and the injury of about 180 others, including civilians, prisoners, and members of displaced families, as a result of violations committed by the Houthis during the past three days in the Western Coast districts, according to an initial toll documented by the field monitoring team.

The Center explained that the victims were killed during targeting with ballistic missiles and drones while attempting to flee toward the capital, Aden, noting that the numbers are likely to rise as monitoring and verification operations continue.

It affirmed that Houthi shelling and the targeting of populated areas caused the displacement of about 2,300 families comprising 19,440 individuals, drawing attention to documented violations accompanying the Houthis' control of the districts of Hays, Al‑Khawkhah south of Al‑Hudaydah, Al‑Wazi'iyah, Muzaw, Al‑Mokha, and Dhubab west of Taiz. These included raiding dozens of homes and looting their contents, targeting villages and residential neighborhoods with missiles, drones, and artillery shells, in addition to forcibly imposing sectarian preachers on a number of mosques in the coastal districts.

The human rights center called on the international community, the United Nations, and humanitarian and human rights organizations to take urgent action to protect civilians, open a transparent investigation into the violations, and hold those responsible accountable, affirming that the toll remains initial and likely to rise.