Cameraman killed as Houthis recapture Taiz

A camera operator covering the battle to control Yemen's third largest city was killed by rebels as they regained their grip on Taiz.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

23 March, 2016

Houthi rebels regained control of Taiz after pro-government forces broke through earlier this month [Getty]

A camera operator filming ongoing clashes between rebels and pro-government forces was shot dead in Yemen's Taiz this week.

Mohammed al-Yemeni, a freelancer who works for several media outlets in Yemen, was killed by a Houthi sniper while covering events in Yemen's third-largest city, Taiz, which has been under siege by the rebel groups for several months.

Three other camera operators were injured in the gunfire on Monday, a local union of journalists statement said, calling on all warring parties to "stop their systematic targeting of journalists".

Yemeni is not the first journalist to have been killed since the Saudi-led coalition began an aerial campaign against the Houthis last year.

Ahmed al-Shaibani, a cameraman working for the state-run Yemen TV, was also killed while filming clashes in Taiz.

The news comes as a fresh wave of violence rocked the besieged city in recent days, leaving scores dead and injured.

At least 39 rebels were killed and dozens others injured when Houthis recaptured Taiz from pro-government forces on Tuesday, just days after they broke through the siege.

Over the weekend, at least 55 people, including civilians, were killed in two days of intense fighting in and around the city.

Houthis seized Taiz - located between the rebel-held capital, Sanaa, and the southern port city of Aden - several months ago.

They cut off all roads and blocked humanitarian access for the estimated 200,000 residents.

More than 6,100 people have died - half of them civilians -since the Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes on Yemen in March 2015, according to the United Nations.