1. YEMEN

2. A girl student leaves al-Furadh School, in Sanaa, Yemen, at the end of the day. Soldiers relax and chew qat outside the school walls. They lived in third-floor classrooms for several months, students and teachers said. © 2012 Priyanka Motaparthy/Human Rights Watch

3. Yemen Human Rights Watch has documented government forces and other armed groups deployed in schools in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, during the 2011-2012 uprising, putting students at risk and undermining education. When rebels occupied dozens of schools in the north of the country, at least 30,000 children were reported to be unable to go to primary and secondary school. Armed groups sought to justify their takeover of schools by saying they “protected” the facility from other armed forces. Yet when troops entered schools, such schools became military targets and led other forces to attack them, putting students and teachers at far greater risk. Instead, armed groups appeared to use schools because of their locations near strategic points; the ease with which they could be initially infiltrated; the defensive advantages of thick walls, perimeter walls, electricity and water; and height for surveillance and situating firing positions. Combatants also stored weapons and ammunition, detained prisoners, and in some cases tortured or otherwise abused detainees on school grounds or in school buildings. Human Rights Watch investigated 10 situations in which armed groups took over rooms or wings of boys’ and girls’ schools, both primary and secondary, while students continued to use the same facilities. Armed men took over parts of school buildings while classes were in session to use them as barracks, bases, surveillance and firing positions, and in at least two cases, used classrooms to detain people. Girls, who already lag behind boys in education in Yemen’s highly gender-segregated and traditional society, dropped out in disproportionately higher numbers or missed greater portions of the school year, according to teachers and principals.

4. Case Study: Asma’a School Approximately 70 to 100 soldiers from the First Armored Division were using two buildings within the school’s campus, and living on the campus. Soldiers did not leave the school until the middle of August, and left the buildings they had used in a state of disrepair. Soldiers harassed and frightened students, teachers and administrators, and disrupted schooling. The troops detained and beat men in their custody on the school grounds according to school administrators and students. In at least one incident, troops beat a detainee in the school courtyard during the students’ break period, as students and teachers looked on. “When they tortured the old man here, we got very scared. They beat him [and] electrocuted him right in the courtyard of the school. It was during recess.” - Ahlam, 13-year-old student

5. Yemen Testimonies “They are in two buildings… One is the library, so students can’t go there anymore. Our school has only three buildings.” - A school administrator “A week or two ago, we went out for gym class... The sixth grade girls were playing, and the soldiers shot [in the air] twice just for fun. The girls got very scared. One fainted. Now we don’t have gym class anymore.” - A teacher “Twenty days ago, they brought some detainees to the school and beat them here. We heard arguments and screams…. In the courtyard they beat a guy really severely.” - A school administrator “The moment soldiers enter a school, it becomes a military target and stops being a safe place for students. Commanders who say they’re protecting a school blatantly ignore the serious risk they’re taking with students’ lives.” Priyanka Motaparthy, children’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watchchildren’s rights

6. Yemen Resources HRW Photos: Troops Endangering StudentsTroops Endangering Students HRW Report: Military Use of Schools in Yemen’s CapitalMilitary Use of Schools in Yemen’s Capital HRW News Article: Yemen: Troops Used Schools, Endangering Children IRIN News Article: YEMEN: Rebel occupation of schools threatens northern ceasefireYEMEN: Rebel occupation of schools threatens northern ceasefire Disarmament Forum, UNIDR Report: Disarming Schools: Strategies for Ending the Military Use of Schools During Armed ConflictDisarming Schools: Strategies for Ending the Military Use of Schools During Armed Conflict