Direct proof of use
ASTROS II use in the 2014 Yemen Civil War is documented through remnants and incident investigations tied to Brazilian-made ground-launched cluster rockets. Human Rights Watch reported that photographs from a February 22, 2017 attack at Qahza in Saada governorate showed part of the bursting mechanism from an ASTROS II cluster munition rocket, and it summarized earlier ASTROS cluster-rocket attacks in Saada during the Saudi-led coalition campaign.
Amnesty International identified remnants from a February 15, 2017 Saada city attack as an ASTROS II surface-to-surface rocket after reviewing witness accounts, YEMAC site inspection information, and photographic and video evidence. ARES separately assessed 2015 images and video from Saada governorate as showing SS-60 or SS-80 rocket components fired from the ASTROS series of multiple launch rocket systems.
Sources: Yemen: Cluster Munitions Wound Children, Amnesty Brazilian Cluster Munitions 2017, ARES Brazilian SS-60 Cargo Rockets
Timeline
The first Yemen incident linked in these sources to Brazilian ASTROS-family cluster rockets was the October 27, 2015 attack in Ahma, Saada. Amnesty reported suspected Brazilian cluster munition use after interviews with residents, medical personnel, a witness, and a local activist; Human Rights Watch later listed Ahma as an ASTROS II incident in its technical briefing note.
The evidence record expanded in December 2016 and February 2017. Human Rights Watch documented a December 6, 2016 ASTROS cluster munition rocket attack near schools in al-Dhubat in Saada's Old City, Amnesty identified the February 15, 2017 Saada city attack as involving ASTROS II remnants, and Human Rights Watch reported further ASTROS II rocket evidence from Qahza on February 22, 2017.
Sources: Amnesty Brazilian Cluster Munitions 2015, HRW Technical Briefing Note, Yemen: Cluster Munitions Wound Children, Amnesty Brazilian Cluster Munitions 2017
Narrative
The documented Yemen role was ground-launched area rocket fire by the Saudi-led coalition, not confirmed possession by Houthi-aligned forces. Human Rights Watch assessed in 2016 that the coalition was responsible for all or nearly all cluster munition attacks it had recorded in Yemen because it was the only party operating aircraft or multi-barrel rocket launchers capable of delivering most of the documented types.
The Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor lists ASTROS II rockets, each containing up to 65 submunitions, as Brazilian-origin ground-launched cluster munitions possessed by Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia and used in Yemen at Ahma, Saada city, and Qahza from 2015 to 2017. Amnesty's 2015 reporting also noted that ASTROS II rockets are manufactured by Avibras and can carry submunitions, while ARES connected Yemen remnants to SS-60 or SS-80 300 mm ASTROS-family cargo rockets.
The strongest public record therefore supports ASTROS II-family rocket employment in Saudi-led coalition operations in northern Yemen, especially Saada governorate, with incident evidence based on remnants, photographs, witness accounts, and mine-action inspection information. The sources document use of ASTROS II rockets and associated SS-60 or SS-80 cargo-rocket evidence; they do not establish a complete order of battle, launch location, or the exact coalition unit that fired each rocket.
Sources: HRW Technical Briefing Note, The Monitor Saudi Arabia Cluster Munition Ban Policy, Amnesty Brazilian Cluster Munitions 2015, ARES Brazilian SS-60 Cargo Rockets
