Michigan- the American Center for Justice (ACJ) calls for the opening of a serious and urgent judicial investigation in the wake of the killing of child Muneer Abdulwasi’ Alabasi “12 years old” and his brother Mukhtar Abdulwasi’ Alabasi “9 years old”. The two children drowned in the village of Al-Dahna, Al-Taiziyah District, Taiz Governorate, while herding sheep next to a pool of water where members of the Houthi group were swimming. The information received by the center's monitoring team showed that "the two children were herding sheep when they arrived at a place where the Houthis were swimming in a water pool." Then a Houthi gunman threw one of the sheep into the water pool and the child kept crying and begged them to take the sheep out before it died. However, the Houthi gunmen asked him to bring it from inside the pool despite his inability to swim. Once the first child entered the water pool, he drowned.”

After that, “the second child begged the gunmen to save his brother from drowning, but they asked him to come towards them and threw him into the water pool until the two children died. Then, the people gathered and went to the supervisor of the Houthi group in the area, who said, “We have warned you not to approach the military sites. This is your fault."

According to local residents, the locals quickly buried the bodies of the two children without presenting them to the forensic doctor or opening an investigation into the incident, which greatly affects the course of the incident, especially since we are facing a premeditated murder against two children who did nothing but passing by those armed men.

The ACJ affirms that what happened with the two children is a murder and a violation of the right to life, which requires imposing the harshest penalties on the perpetrators. The center also stressed that the silence of the Houthi group or its attempt to justify the premeditated murder would further allow its members to continue violating the rights of individuals and vulnerable groups.

The Center concluded its statement by calling on the Houthi group to open an urgent judicial investigation into the circumstances of the incident and bring the individuals involved to criminal justice. Furthermore, the ACJ renewed its call to the Houthi group and all armed parties to respect the rights of individuals, especially vulnerable groups of women and children, and to protect them instead of violating their rights and exposing them to the risk of death or displacement.