SANAA, Yemen – Families of Yemenis who have vanished since the outbreak of civil war in 2014 are facing renewed uncertainty as recent combat operations disrupt access to critical information. The resurgence of fighting has stalled efforts by families and humanitarian organizations to determine whether missing relatives are detained, injured, or deceased.
Since July, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has processed over 1,800 requests from families seeking to trace missing persons in Yemen. However, the escalation of hostilities has made it increasingly difficult to verify the status of individuals who disappeared during the decade-long conflict between the Iran-aligned Houthis and the Saudi-backed internationally recognized government.
Munif, an 18-year-old who left his home in Sanaa in 2020 to fight with the Houthis, is one of hundreds whose fate remains unknown. Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, his family stated that while nine other men from their village returned home after six months at the front, Munif never did.
“Ten other men from our village joined the front line on the Saudi-Yemen border. All of them came back. We asked them about my brother’s whereabouts, but none could tell us where he had gone,” said Munif’s brother, Mohammed. “A definite answer about his status would be a relief for the entire family.}”
Mohammed believes his brother was either killed in an airstrike that left no physical trace or captured by government forces. While some families have found solace in confirming deaths, the ambiguity surrounding Munif’s disappearance prevents closure.
“We have heard about some fighters who were believed to be dead, and their families accepted the news of their deaths and mourned them. However, they emerged alive after years of captivity. So, Munif may still be alive,” Mohammed said.
The situation highlights a broader crisis. In May, Yemen’s government and the Houthis signed a UN-brokered agreement in Jordan to exchange more than 1,600 detainees, but the deal’s implementation was delayed after mutual accusations of obstruction.
Fighting has intensified in central regions such as Marib and Al-Jawf since the Houthis seized territory along the coast in September. Rashid al-Alimi, head of the Presidential Leadership Council, announced a counteroffensive, raising fears that the increased use of artillery, drones, and warplanes will result in more casualties and missing persons.
Ahmed, whose 24-year-old brother Abdulaziz fights for the Houthis in Marib, has not received communication from him in two months. Prior to the recent surge in violence, Abdulaziz contacted his family every 10 days.
“Whether he continues to be lost or his dead body returns, my mother’s eyes will never stop filling with tears,” Ahmed said. “But continued ambiguity is more painful than confirmed news of his death.”
Christine Cipolla, head of the ICRC’s Yemen delegation, emphasized the moral imperative for clarity. “Behind every missing person is a family living in anguish. Their pain cannot be ignored, and their wait must not be prolonged,” she said.
For Ali, a 23-year-old who joined Houthi forces on the western coast despite his parents’ objections, his family received a call five days ago confirming his death in Mocha. However, his body has not been recovered.
“So far, we have not received his body, and we do not know where it is,” said Ali’s brother, Yasser. “Recovering his corpse would ease our grief, end our uncertainty, and prove that he is really dead.”
Yazeed Al-Jeddawy, research manager at the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies, argued that humanitarian groups must be granted safe passage to all areas to recover bodies and preserve identification evidence. He noted that the suffering of families often spans decades, shaping how history will remember the conflict.
Data from Mwatana for Human Rights, which interviewed over 2,000 families between September 2014 and July 2025, documents at least 1,592 enforced disappearance incidents involving 2,120 victims. The Houthis were linked to 756 incidents, government-affiliated forces to 351, the Saudi-led coalition to 65, and the Southern Transitional Council (STC) to 387.
Al-Jeddawy cautioned that the missing persons issue represents a significant moral failure for all parties involved in the war, which has claimed between 150,000 and 227,000 lives and displaced millions.
“History will judge the parties not only by the battles they fought or the territory they gained, but also by whether they showed basic humanity towards the dead, the missing and the families left searching for answers,” he said.
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