Yemeni families’ search for missing loved ones hindered by new fighting

Sanaa, Yemen – In 2020, 18-year-old Munif bid farewell to his family and left his home in Sanaa to fight with the Houthis on the front lines of Yemen’s civil war

After six months, all of his comrades went back to their families, but Munif never returned home.

More than six years have passed, and Munif’s family, who asked to use just his first name for security reasons, are still searching for answers about his fate.

He is one of hundreds of people who have disappeared in Yemen since war broke out in September 2014, when the Houthis – an armed group also known as Ansar Allah (Arabic for Supporters of God) – captured the capital and forced the internationally-recognised government to flee south.

“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 Mohammed, Munif’s brother. “A definite answer about his status would be a relief for the entire family.”

There were hopes that a truce in 2022 between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and Iran-aligned Houthis could help families begin their search for their missing loved ones.

Since July this year, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has received more than 1,800 tracing requests from families looking for missing relatives in Yemen.

But the resumption of fighting in July has halted this search for many families, who are trying to find out if loved ones have been detained, injured, killed, or simply lost in records, due to displacement or desertion.

After careful consideration, Mohammed believes there are two possible outcomes for his brother, Munif.

“He might have been hit by an air strike, leaving no trace of his body, or perhaps he was captured, and he remains in captivity,” Mohammed said.

If Munif was killed in an explosion, finding a body part that could be identified would bring the family some relief. But the family is still hoping for the latter scenario, and that Munif is being held captive by government forces.

“We would have accepted his death, adjusted to the loss, and forgotten my brother’s possible return. We just need to know what happened to him,” he said.

“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.”

Both sides have held many prisoners of war over the decade-long conflict, but the number of captives remains uncertain.

In May, Yemen’s internationally-recognised government and the Houthis signed a United Nations-backed agreement in Jordan to exchange more than 1,600 detainees. However, the implementation of the deal was postponed after both sides accused each other of obstructing the agreement.

Abdulaziz, 24, has been on the front lines in Marib, an energy-rich region in central Yemen, fighting for the Houthis. Before the recent surge in fighting, he used to call his family once every 10 days. But for the past two months, his family has not heard from him.

“We are waiting for a phone call from Abdulaziz, and we do not know if he will ever call us,” said Ahmed, Abdulaziz’s brother.

Fighting has intensified on the front lines in Marib and Al-Jawf since the Houthis seized part of the Yemeni coast in September, and Rashid al-Alimi, the head of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), announced a counteroffensive by government forces.

The use of artillery, drones and warplanes to target Houthi positions likely means that many more people will be killed or missing.

Ahmed, 26, assumes that his brother may have been killed in attacks by government forces in recent weeks.

“We have not received any information from his comrades and field leaders about his injury or death. But my parents state that Abdulaziz’s voice or appearance is the only believable proof that he is alive,” he said.

“Abdulaziz is in the battlefield. And people there kill or get killed. So, his [possible] death is not a shock for me. But continued ambiguity is more painful than confirmed news of his death.”

With no word on his whereabouts, Abdulaziz’s mother will not know whether to wait for his safe return or begin to mourn his loss. “Whether he continues to be lost or his dead body returns, my mother’s eyes will never stop filling with tears,” Ahmed added.

Christine Cipolla, the head of the ICRC’s Yemen delegation, said families of the missing had the right to know about the fate of their loved ones.

“Behind every missing person is a family living in anguish. Their pain cannot be ignored, and their wait must not be prolonged,” she said in a statement.

Two months ago, Ali, 23, joined the Houthis’ campaign against government forces on Yemen’s western coast.

His parents objected to Ali leaving home to fight. But because he was unemployed, he insisted on joining the Houthis.

Five days ago, the family received a call informing them of Ali’s death.

“We were told that Ali was killed in the fighting in Mocha. So far, we have not received his body, and we do not know where it is,” Yasser told Al Jazeera. “Recovering his corpse would ease our grief, end our uncertainty, and prove that he is really dead.”

Yazeed Al-Jeddawy, a research manager at the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies, told Al Jazeera that the ICRC and other qualified humanitarian teams must be allowed safe access to all parts of Yemen to recover bodies, document the missing and preserve identification evidence.

“This is not only about meeting legal obligations. Families may carry the pain and uncertainty of not knowing for decades, and their experiences will become part of how this war is remembered,” Al-Jeddawy said.

Some missing people may have been detained or forcibly disappeared, while others may have been killed in fighting or separated from their families.

The Yemen-based NGO, Mwatana for Human Rights, conducted more than 2,000 interviews with families of victims between September 2014 and July 2025. The study reported at least 1,592 incidents of enforced disappearance involving 2,120 victims.

The Houthi armed group was found responsible for 756 incidents of disappearance involving 897 victims. Forces linked to the internationally-recognised government were connected to 351 incidents involving 449 victims, while the Saudi-led Arab coalition was responsible for 65 incidents involving 91 victims. Forces linked to the Southern Transitional Council (STC) were involved in 387 incidents involving 630 victims.

Al-Jeddawy said the issue of the missing is another stain on both sides of the conflict, which has already killed between 150,000 and 227,000 people 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.