Graphic Yemen Footage Exposes Alleged War Crimes by Saudi‑Backed Forces at Bab al‑Mandab
New videos from Yemen show Saudi‑backed fighters in armored vehicles running over surrendering Houthi combatants near the Bab al‑Mandab corridor as part of a wider offensive backed by 100 coalition jets. The footage raises war‑crimes questions just as Washington’s close role in Saudi command centers comes under fresh scrutiny.
Yemen’s grinding war has taken a darker turn with graphic footage circulating of Saudi‑aligned fighters driving armored vehicles over surrendering Houthi combatants near the Bab al‑Mandab strait, an episode that could carry serious legal and political costs for the coalition and its foreign backers.
The videos, shared by accounts linked to the Saudi‑backed giants brigades and other pro‑government outlets, are geolocated to the Dhubab area overlooking Bab al‑Mandab, including the al‑Amari base zone and Dhubab airfield. They show what appears to be pro‑government Yemeni forces in armored vehicles deliberately running over Houthi fighters who are no longer resisting, according to descriptions from multiple channels that posted the material. Separate reports name the unit involved as part of the Emirati‑backed Southern Giants Brigade, itself under the Saudi‑supported Presidential Leadership Council.
Independent verification of the footage is still emerging, but the acts depicted, if confirmed, would clearly fall outside the laws of war, which require humane treatment of combatants who are hors de combat — out of the fight due to surrender, injury or capture. Rights groups and UN investigators have previously documented abuses by all sides in Yemen, but imagery this explicit, tied to a named coalition partner and a specific offensive, is likely to sharpen calls for accountability.
The incident coincides with a sweeping Saudi‑backed campaign against Houthi positions. Riyadh’s Defense Ministry announced that around 100 fighter jets took part in operations on Monday as allied Yemeni forces recaptured Dhubab Airport and pushed along the Bab al‑Mandab corridor. Yemeni government statements describe a broader drive to retake Sanaa and roll back Houthi gains across several fronts.
For fighters on both sides, the message sent by such footage is direct: surrender may not guarantee survival. That perception can make battles bloodier, prolong resistance in urban areas and make negotiated local surrenders far harder to arrange. For civilians living in contested zones like Dhubab, Murad and nearby coastal settlements, it signals that combat is being waged with few restraints.
The political risk does not stop in Yemen. The New York Times reports that more than 200 U.S. intelligence and military analysts are working inside Saudi command centers, helping analyze and select targets for Saudi‑backed Yemeni forces, and that the United States is providing aerial refueling for Saudi defensive patrols. While Washington has, according to that reporting, rejected Saudi requests for direct U.S. strikes on Houthi targets, such a level of embedded support links American decision‑making to the conduct of the campaign in the eyes of many observers.
If international courts, UN panels or national prosecutors take up the Dhubab footage as evidence, they will examine command responsibility: who ordered the actions, who knew, and whether anyone tried to stop or punish them. That chain of questions can reach beyond the armored vehicle crews to brigade leadership, coalition liaison officers and the governments that train, equip or advise them.
The Bab al‑Mandab sector heightens the stakes further. This narrow waterway connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, channeling energy exports and container traffic between Europe and Asia. The same offensive that produced the alleged war crimes video is part of a contest for terrain that directly abuts a global shipping chokepoint. The perception that that front is being fought with no regard for humanitarian law can increase diplomatic pressure from trading nations that rely on secure passage.
One sentence captures the moment: when a campaign near a global shipping lane is fought in a way that appears to discard the rules of war, the legal fallout can be as destabilizing as any missile.
Key signals to watch next include whether the coalition or Yemeni government comment directly on the Dhubab footage, if any internal investigations or disciplinary actions are announced, and how UN bodies and major Western capitals respond to the reported abuses. Moves to condition arms sales, limit targeting support or push for new monitoring mechanisms would show that the images are reshaping not only perceptions of the Yemen war but policy around it.
Sources
- OSINT