Human Rights Watch assesses April 17 Ras Isa port strikes as an apparent war crime
Reporting and findings
- reported
Human Rights Watch assessed the April 17, 2025 Ras Isa port strikes as an apparent war crime, citing interviews and imagery and questioning the military objective and proportionality. This is the organization's assessment, not a judicial finding.
- Human Rights Watch: Yemen: US Strikes on Port an Apparent War CrimeOpening assessment, methodology and analysis of military objective and proportionality
- documented
Trump stated that he directed the March 2025 US campaign against the Houthis that encompassed the April strikes.
- The White House: Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the SenateOpening campaign authorization paragraphs
Summary and current status
Human Rights Watch called for investigation of the strikes; the existing Rough Rider entry already counts the DoD civilian-casualty assessment.
Source-assessed incident; attribution and count stated in evidence
People and organizations
- Operation Rough RiderMilitary campaign associated with the incident
- Donald J. TrumpPresident directing the cited military campaign
Relationships in this file
- Donald J. Trumpdirected the military campaignOperation Rough Rider
Figures
HRW-assessed possible war-crime incident1 incidents Calculation details
- Basis
- Observed
- Population
- April 17, 2025 Ras Isa port strikes assessed by Human Rights Watch
- Period
- 2025-04-17 to 2025-04-17
- Method
- One distinct incident subject to an attributed expert NGO assessment. Sa'ada's separate existing assessment is not repeated.
- Uncertainty
- NGO assessment; no judicial conviction or finding is asserted. No civilian casualty or use-of-force measurement is added because the incident is already included in DoD's Rough Rider aggregate.