"We used to visit my mother's grave – I sit in front of her feet and my brother in front of her head – after a time at the grave, the place turned to dust and moaning." “Nasser Murad (a pseudonym),” said, describing the defining moments in his life.
When "Nasser" and his brother "Fouad" were rejoicing and praying for the soul of their mother, who was buried three years ago in the Al-Amoudi cemetery in the city of Dhammar, one of the Arab coalition fighter planes was hovering in the sky of the city after which it throw its cargo on the cemetery and gone!
When the dust settled, the graves were scattered, his brother's blood was still fresh on his mother's grave, and sever pain was flaying under his stomach.
The people’s voices rose and the citizens rushed to the place. That raid left a large hole in the southern side of the cemetery, and five civilian victims - one of whom died - happened to be in the place.
In that accident, "Nasser" lost his brother - who was working as a teaching assistant at the Department of Geology at Dhammar University -and he reports painful details to "Khuyut", as he remembers the last moments of his brother's life: "I felt like I was flying and hitting the ground with force, and that the place was a piece of hell. I passed out for a few seconds, and when I regained consciousness I was breathless and unable to move, I was shouting his name, and he answered me in a voice mixed with painful moans, blood was everywhere and my brother was dismembered; one of his feet was lying on my mother's grave. Just before the explosion, we exchanged the vow that anyone of us who lives shall take care of the family of the other.” Nasser lost his younger brother, as well as parts of his reproductive system, a disability throughout his life.
“It's embarrassing to reveal my suffering even though I always suffer,” Nasser said. And he continued, "I can't work at the moment, and my lower abdomen hurts a lot if I exert myself." Nasser has five children, two of whom are boys, who are now taking care of the family by selling ice cream in the neighborhoods and alleys of the city of Dhammar.
According to an official in the Human Rights Office in Dhammar: During the period from April 2015 to June 2021, about 320 civilians were killed, including 61 children, in the various districts of the governorate, while the number of wounded reached 456 civilians, including dozens of Transformed into people with disabilities
Nasser, who hails from the Anas area, was living in the Abs area in Hajjah governorate - about 123 km from Sana'a from the northwest - He settled with his family there and worked on the daily wage and his economic conditions were improving. He fled to the city of Dhammar, after the fighting approach to his place of residence, to begin a new chapter of his life, which was exhausted by the details of suffering.
On May 27, 2015, the echo of an air strike filled the city that afternoon and terrified the residents. Four years have passed since that day, and the memory is still present in Nasser’s mind. “It hurts for the loss of my brother.” He said those words and sadness fills the features of his tired voice. Another civilian falls victim, who has nothing of the war but its pain and its bitter impact on his life.
To a man in his fifties, his brother was more than just a brother; “He was my friend, my brother, my supporter, and as if he was my son, not my brother” Nasir recalls his childhood years, recounting some of the details of daily life with his brother.
"We used to play and go to school together, and in our youth we used to spend hours talking without getting bored. His brother was an intelligent and sensitive person, and he loved education and study, and I always encouraged him to be the best."
For a man who did not complete his university education and was satisfied with a high school diploma, "Fouad" was the dream that came true by reaching the degree of a teaching assistant at Dhammar University, when he achieved advanced ranks throughout his university years.
On the day Fouad's heart was extinguished by the raid, he was preparing to go to the university to receive part of his financial dues, but he left before he gets it.
Nasser Murad (a pseudonym, as previously indicated): continued his conversation with the Khuyut, “We walked from our home next to the sports stadium neighborhood in Dhammar to the main street, and Fouad’s destination was to the university and I was heading to the cemetery, but he changed his mind and left the bus after several meters and we walked together towards the cemetery.
Nasser indicated that they heard a warplane overhead, so he told his brother jokingly: “Go home; if one of us have died, at least one will live to take care of the children.” But my brother continued his course, indifferent to his older brother's banter, which turned from a passing banter to a bitter reality, whose sad memories are not easy to overcome.
Hundreds of victims
According to the Director of the Human Rights Office in Dhammar Governorate, Muhammad Al-Mawri, in an interview with “Khuyut”: During the period from April 2015 to June 2021, about 320 civilians were killed, including 61 children, in the various districts of Dhammar Governorate, while the number of wounded reached about 456 civilians, including dozens who turned into persons with disabilities.
He also referred to the expansion of targeting civilian facilities; Including school buildings and educational institutions “technical and university education” that amounted to 189 schools, 36 institutes and institutions for technical education and vocational training, and six university buildings, exceeding that of destroying homes throughout the years of war; 33 houses were completely destroyed, and 690 were partially damaged.
“In every raid that targets a civilian facility, civilians will inevitably fall victim,” said the Director of the Human Rights Office in Dhammar Governorate, adding: “Some details of targeting we cannot access, especially in the early years of the war, but we work with double effort in monitoring and documenting those targeting.” .
Al Amoudi Cemetery
It is located in the cemetery of the city of Dhammar in the center of the city and it extends over a vast area. It is locally called "Al-Amoudi's cemetery" in relation to the man who endowed vast properties of his land to be a cemetery. The cemetery is surrounded by residential and government buildings, and an asphalt road separates it from Dhammar General Hospital.
Al-Amoudi cemetery in the city of Dhammar was the second case of coalition aircraft targeting, after targeting Khuzayma cemetery in Sana’a, several days ago. When it was targeted, it was expected that the raids were targeting the local council building in the city of Dhammar, due to the close distance between the building and the place that was bombed in the cemetery.
