Incident Summary

About the incident: Shelling targeted a gas station in the Al-Rumaila area, east of the Marib city district in the Marib governorate center.
Place of attack: Al-Rumaila area, east of the Marib city district in the Marib governorate center.
Date: March 16, 2021.
Time of Attack: Between 16:14 – 16:17 Yemeni local time.
Casualties: 2 dead, 7 injured.
Type of attack: Ground shelling.
Weapons used: "Badr-F" or "NAKAL" Ballistic missiles.
Potentially responsible: Forces affiliated with the Ansar Allah "Houthi" movement.

Introduction

On the evening of March 16, 2021, a ballistic missile hit the "Taj Sheba Complex" gas station in the Rumaila area, east of Marib city.The missile hit the gas station while it was crowded with civilians and their vehicles, killing two people and wounding seven others. Some of those wounded were seriously injured, including an African migrant.

Background on the area

The governorate of Marib is located in the center of Yemen. It’s also one of the closest cities to Yemen’s capital At about 122 km away from Sana’a,.

Marib is considered one of the first governorates to produce petroleum products and is a main source for domestically produced gas in Yemen. Throughout the war, the city and governorate has held significant military and political importance because it houses the central offices for the Ministry of Defense and Chief of Staff for the presidency.

In March 2015, Marib city first witnessed military clashes between Ansar Allah “Houthi” movement affiliated forces from Sana’a—backed by former president “Ali Abdullah Saleh”—and “Popular Resistance” and tribesmen groups. “Popular Resistance” forces were attempting to halt the advance of Ansar Allah affiliated forces coming from Sana’a from acquiring the governorate.

Within the first months of fighting, Ansar Allah “Houthi'' forces made progress, advancing towards the Marib Dam and controlling areas about 10 km west of the Marib city center. However, “Houthi” groups were later forced to retreat with the intervention of Saudi-led coalition forces. With coalition assistance, Yemeni government forces advanced and took control of the outskirts of Sirwah city and the mountains of the Nihm district in Sana’a. Since 2015, the areas of control in the western region of Marib have frequently changed.

Over the past years of the conflict, Marib has housed millions of displaced people fleeing from other Yemeni governorates. With battle areas expanding, the numbers of those displaced increase daily. According to a report published in late February 2021 by the “Executive Unit for the Management of Displaced Persons Camps,” 2,231,000 people are currently displaced in Marib. Those displaced in Marib make up 60% of the total number of people displaced in Yemen.

In February 2021, military clashes in Marib escalated and intensified. Forces affiliated with the Ansar Allah “Houthi” movement attacked the city from its northern and western sides, where most of the city’s displacement camps are located. According to a statement from the governor of the Dhamar governorate and member of Ansar Allah’s political council Muhammad Al Bukhaiti, the attack was made with the aim of “controlling the city and its oil and gas resources.” Several politicians also argue that the attack was made to apply political pressure in support of the “Houthis” in any upcoming negotiations aimed at ending the war in Yemen.

Following accusations against the Houthis of targeting civilians in Marib, The bombing of the fuel station in Rumaila in eastern Marib city was a part of a series of large-scale rocket and artillery attacks targeting residential areas and camps for the displaced.

A satellite image from Google Maps showing Marib city and the Rumaila area.

What Happened?

On Tuesday evening, March 16, 2021, reports circulated on social media platforms and news sites of shelling on the city of Marib. The Saba Yemeni news agency and several other news sites initially reported that a missile targeted a popular market located in easternMarib, but a video from a surveillance camera showed that the missile fell near a car wash and gas station populated with a large number of civilian cars.

A screenshot taken from the news published on The Saba Yemeni news agency site

CCTV footage, which was posted later on the day of the attack by Facebook user“Abd al-Rahman al-Shaddadi” (a resident of Marib), was widely circulated the day after the attack. From different angles, the video shows the moment the missile hit the area.. The video’s metadata reveals the date and time of the attack on the gas station.

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Shelling targeted a gas station in the Al-Rumaila area, east Marib city, Marib governorate

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