Incident: A photojournalist killed, others injured in Taiz
Type: gunshots
Location: Aqaqa area in Sabir al-Mawadim District, west of Taiz city
Date: 21 March 2016
Time: between 15:30 and 16:43 pm
Victims: one killed and four slightly injured, all of them photojournalists.
Responsibility: Possibly Ansar Allah Houthi group.

Introduction

A photojournalist was killed, and four others were injured on the evening of 21 March 2016 while covering military confrontations west of Taiz city between forces affiliated with the internationally recognized Yemeni government and backed by the Popular Resistance factions and Ansar Allah Houthi forces, after a gathering of photojournalists and military fighters was exposed to a barrage of bullets from Houthi controlled areas in Al-Dhabab Front.

Content warning:

This report or related sources contain violent scenes and images showing physical injuries.

Methodology

Yemeni Archive investigated this incident based on:

Collecting, preserving and analyzing 36 videos, photos and reports, published on social media platforms, showing information and visual content at the moment of the attack and the context of its occurrence.
Determining the location of the impact through the information available about the attack area in the reports related to the incident, the written description of the area, and the features that appeared in the visual content of the confrontation area on Al-Dhabab front, west of Taiz city, and matching them with satellite images.
Determining the time of the attack by tracking the temporal context by analyzing the time the victims published details of their movements and determining the time of their location before the injury through the shadows in the photos in which they appeared with the first local media reports of the incident on social media platforms.
Determining responsibility by examining the visual content published by the Houthis that shows confrontations in Al-Dhabab front, ensuring that the time of the documentation, determining the forces locations, and matching it with what was shown in the visual content that documented the incident, and verifying the possibility of targeting.
Examining the visual content and posts by victims to ensure the accuracy of information about their exposure to injury.

About the area

The military confrontations between the Houthi forces and forces affiliated with the government and backed by the Popular Resistance in Taiz city, the center of Taiz governorate, since the end of March 2015, closed the main and side roads leading to and from the city center. Therefore, the pro-government forces sought to make military progress on the side road leading to the southern countryside of Taiz, which passes through the closed Al-Dhabab area in Aqaqah area in Sabir Al-Mawadim District, as the Houthi forces controlled part of it, forming a military buffer that prevented the forces from merging in the city and the countryside, and impeded entry and exit of civilians and basic goods into the city.

An image created with the selection and navigation feature of Google Earth shows the scope of the military confrontations on Al-Dhabab front in Aqaqa area of Sabir Al-Mawadim District, west of Taiz city. Yemeni Archive identified the focus area in red.

On 12 March 2016, government forces were able to open the road after military battles on Al-Dhabab Front, and civilians were allowed to enter and leave for 8 days, before Houthi forces regained control of the road and closed the road again on 22 March after battles that lasted for two days.

Photojournalist Muhammad Al-Yamani participated in covering the military battles in Taiz, including the previous Al-Dhabab battle to open the road, and he suffered an injury to his thigh, which he described as minor.

A screenshot from a post by photojournalist Muhammad Al-Yamani on Facebook, in which he reported that he had suffered a non-serious injury while documenting the battles on Al-Dhabab Front on 12 March 2016, nine days before he was killed in the same area that he had participated in covering the battles.

At midnight on 20 March and dawn on 21 March, Al-Yamani reported on his Facebook page that violent battles were taking place on the western and eastern Al-Dhabab fronts in Taiz.

*A screenshot of a post by photojournalist Muhammad Al-Yamani on Facebook, in which he indicated the outbreak of violent military confrontations on Al-Dhabab Front in the early hours of 21 March 2016.*

On the afternoon of 21 March, Al-Yamani published his last post on Facebook, hours before his death, in which he indicated that he was heading to cover the battles again and appeared in images published by photographer Taqi al-Din al-Hudhaifi, documenting the resistance forces in Al-Dhabab area.

A screenshot of the last post published by Muhammad al-Yamani on his Facebook page hours before his death, in which he confirmed that he had gone out to cover the battles on Al-Dhabab Front on 21 March 2016.

After the battles in which Al-Yamani was killed and other photographers were injured, Al-Dhabab road remained closed and controlled by Houthi forces for five months, until it was opened for the last time in August 2016 after military battles with government forces.

What (and when)

On the evening of 21 March 2016, sources on social media platforms reported the killing of a photojournalist and the injury of other photographers, as a result of being exposed to gunshots while covering military confrontations in Al-Dhabab area, west of Taiz city, between government forces backed by popular resistance and Houthi forces.

A screenshot of Taiz News Network’s Facebook post on the evening of 21 March 2016, reporting that photojournalist Al-Yamani was killed by Houthi snipers while covering military confrontations in Al-Dhabab area, west of Taiz city

*A screenshot of a Facebook post by Balqis Satellite Channel on the evening of 21 March 2016, regarding the killing of Al-Yamani and the injury of two other journalists in Houthi bombing in Taiz city*

Photojournalist Taqi al-Din al-Hudhaifi published a photo on Facebook of al-Yamani on the day of the incident, documenting the leader of the Popular Resistance in Taiz city during the ongoing battles in Al-Dhabab area. He also appeared in a video of Ayman al-Qurashi from the same place and was not injured.

A photo published by photojournalist Taqi al-Din al-Hudhaifi on his Facebook page showing photojournalist Muhammad al-Yamani while documenting the speech of the leader of the Popular Resistance in Taiz from Al-Dhabab area shortly before his death. Taqi published the photo at around 7:30 pm on 21 March 2016, hours after the incident.

A screenshot from a video that Ayman Al-Qurashi posted on his Facebook page on 21 March 2016 confirming the presence of photojournalist Muhammad Al-Yamani in Al-Dhabab front, west of Taiz, as he documented a speech by the leader of the Popular Resistance in Taiz in conjunction with the ongoing battles.

On the same day of the incident, Taiz News Network account published a report by Yemen Channel - deleted from YouTube – showing the moment a large gathering including photojournalists, fighters, and military vehicles ran on the asphalt road, after being exposed to heavy gunfire that can be heard in the video.

A screenshot from Yemen Satellite Channel report published on Taiz News Network Facebook account on the evening of 21 March 2016. The report discussed photojournalists victims while covering the confrontations in Al-Dhabab area. The video shows the moment a military gathering was hit by a barrage of bullets.

In 2019, Yemen Shabab Channel aired an episode about Al-Yamani, which showed scenes from the day of the shooting incident. The episode included a shot of Al-Yamani being treated aboard a military vehicle after he was injured.

A screenshot from the video of Al-Moghamer program shown by Yemen Shabab Channel in May 2019 about the story of the photojournalist Muhammad Al-Yamani. One of its scenes shows the moment the photographer Muhammad Al-Yamani was treated aboard a military vehicle after he was injured, wearing the same clothes that he appeared in in Al-Qurashi’s video and a photo by Al-Hudhaifi.

In addition to Al-Yamani, Yemen Channel report showed that photojournalist Haikal Al-Ariqi and photojournalist Abdul-Hakim Mughalis were slightly injured, while Taiz Network reported that Yemen Channel correspondent Shabab Abdul-Qawi Al-Azani and photographer Naif Al-Wafi were injured.

A screenshot of Taiz News Network’s Facebook post on 21 March 2016, stating that four other photographers were injured in the attack that claimed the life of Muhammad al-Yamani, showing the injury of two of them.

In the episode about Muhammad Al-Yamani on Yemen Shabab Channel, Abdul Hakim Mughalis appeared running under gunfire, wearing the same clothes that were shown in Yemen Channel report, while he was in the hospital with minor wounds from the injury.

A screenshot from Al-Moghamer program on Yemen Shabab satellite channel in May 2019 about journalist Muhammad Al-Yamani, showing scenes during the incident and showing a shot of photojournalist Abdul Hakim Mughalis in the gathering that was exposed to gun fire on 21 March 2016.

A screenshot hot from Yemen Channel video posted on Taiz News Facebook account, on 21 March 2016, showing photojournalist Abdul Hakim Mughalis inside a hospital, suffering from minor wounds in his left leg.

Impacted site

By tracking news of the battles in Taiz, we found a detailed map of the confrontations published on Facebook two days after the incident, in which the control and engagement areas were identified on Al-Dhabab front, west of Taiz, by a military expert tracking the course of battles in the region - specifically on 23 March 2016, which narrowed the scope of the battles areas in Taiz. Searching in an area located between the blue and red colors, between the central prison and the hangar point on the asphalt road. When identifying the locations in the image west of Taiz, we find the distance of the road on which the incident likely occurred at a specific point is about 1.7 km according to the distance scale of Google Earth, which is the distance between the central prison and the Hangar point.

*An illustration published by a* *Facebook* account on 23 March 2016, two days after the battles, showing the field situation on Al-Dhabab front, west of Taiz, and identifying the areas of control of both sides of the conflict in the region, which helped narrow the scope of the search for a potential location of impact.

*A satellite image from Google Earth Pro taken in May 2016, which identified the points of confrontation mentioned in the previous* *post, and the distance within which the search for the impact site was limited after narrowing the scope and taking into account that the incident occurred on the asphalt road.*

Yemen Channel report included an important and clear visual landmark, which is a large hangar along a turn in the road opposite the place where photographers and fighters gathered before fleeing as a result of the shooting that caused the death of a photojournalist and the injury of others, according to the report.

*A screenshot from Yemen Satellite Channel* *video* *posted by Taiz News Facebook account on 21 March 2016, showing a hangar along the turn in the asphalt road near the impact site where photojournalists were gathered.*

The hangar and the turn appear after matching Yemen Channel shot with the satellite image from Google Earth at coordinates 13.572153, 43.946223 in the western part of the specified road. In another shot of the video, there is a three-story building with a distinctive white color covering the ground floor located on the other side of the road.

*A screenshot from Yemen Satellite Channel* *video* posted by Taiz News Facebook account on 21 March 2016, showing the steel hanger and the turn in the asphalt road near the impact site where photojournalists were gathered. Google Earth Pro satellite image taken in March 2016 shows a significant shift in visual content.

*Another screenshot from Yemen Satellite Channel* *video* posted by Taiz News Facebook account on 21 March 2016, showing a distinctive white building on the ground floor opposite the hangar on the other side of the asphalt road, and matching it with a satellite image from Google Earth Pro taken in March 2016.

The shape of the mountains in Yemen Channel shot before the turn matches the shape of the mountains in Mountain Explorer tool from the possible point where the photographer is standing.

*Another screenshot from Yemen Satellite Channel* *video* published by Taiz News account on Facebook on 21 March 2016, showing the mountain ranges from the angle where the photographer was standing in Al-Dhabab area and merging it with the mountains in the region provided by *Mountain Explorer tool* *to ensure the match and the validity of the location.*

In the video, it can be seen that fighters and photographers are standing next to unfinished buildings, and a military vehicle is present as if it is damaged in the middle of the road heading towards the hangar. By matching the visual elements with a satellite image from Google Earth taken in March 2016, it is likely that the impact site is located at Coordinates 13.574056, 43.947752 on the road leading to Al-Dhabab and the southern countryside of Taiz Governorate, in Aqaqa area, west of Taiz.

*Another screenshot from Yemen Satellite Channel* *video* posted by Taiz News Facebook account on 21 March 2016, showing unfinished buildings with fighters and photojournalists standing next to them during the fire attack and a damaged military vehicle in the middle of the asphalt road. Satellite image from Google Earth Pro taken in March 2016 showing the location of buildings and the damaged vehicle.

*A satellite image from Google Earth taken in June 2023 shows the potential location of the incident west of Taiz city, the center of Taiz governorate.*

The time of the attack

The available content provided important information about the temporal context of the incident through the timestamp of social media reports and the sun shadow visible in the pre-incident scenes.

At 14:31 pm on 21 March, photojournalist Muhammad Al-Yamani published his last post on his Facebook account, in which he indicated that he was going to cover the battles without specifying his destination.

*A screenshot of the last* *post* published by Muhammad Al-Yamani on his Facebook account hours before his death, in which he confirmed his departure to cover the battles on Al-Dhabab Front on 21 March 2016, and a screenshot of the timestamp analysis *tool* *for the post at 14:31 pm*

Al-Yamani later appeared in images published by a photographer on his Facebook account on the same day, in which he indicated Al-Yamani’s presence to document the ongoing battles on the Western Front in Al-Dhabab area, which was confirmed by comparing these images with scenes from Yemen Channel report.

*A photo* *posted* by a photographer on his Facebook account shows photojournalist Muhammad Al-Yamani on 21 March 2016, hours after the incident, next to a sand-colored military vehicle while documenting a Resistance leader.

*A screenshot from Yemen Satellite Channel* *video* published by Taiz News account on Facebook on 21 March 2016, showing the sand-colored military vehicle and the other camouflaged with distinctive military camouflage parked next to the asphalt road before the shooting incident occurred, next to which photographer, Muhammad Al-Yamani was standing in *other images*.

Analysis of the length and direction of the shadow in the photo in which photographer Muhammad Al-Yamani appeared in Al-Dhabab area before his death indicates that the time of the shot was between 15:30 - 15:55 pm on 21 March 2016, at coordinates: 13.573848, 43.947573 after analysis of geographical location of the image.

A *photo* published by a Facebook account on 21 March 2016, shows Muhammad Al-Yamani before the attack, with his body drawing the path and length of the sun’s shadow, which made it possible to estimate the approximate time of the photo before he was injured.

*A satellite* *image* from Google Earth taken in May 2015 of the location of the shot, which showed Muhammad Al-Yamani next to a building with white marble stones and small shops with a wall and a gate in the middle, along the main road. Determining the location of the shot contributes to more accurate shadow analysis.

*A screenshot from Sun Calc shadow measuring* *tool* on 21 March 2016 from the same place the photo was taken. The first possibility indicates that if the length of Al-Yamani’s shadow drawn on the military vehicle is two and a half times the length of his body, in addition to the deflection of the shadow, it indicates the time. It's approximately 15:55 evening.

*A screenshot from Sun Calc shadow measuring* *tool* on March 21, 2016 from the same place the photo was taken. The second possibility indicates that if the length of Al-Yamani’s shadow drawn on the military vehicle is 1.2 times the length of his body, in addition to the deflection of the shadow, then the it indicates the time. Approximately 15:30 evening.

Taiz News account on Facebook published the first report of the photographer Muhammad Al-Yamani being injured by a sniper bullet and the injury of other photographers in Al-Dhabab front at 16:43 pm, and the news continued after that, making the possible time range for the incident between 15:30 and 16:43 pm on 21 March 2016.

*A screenshot of the first report of an incident of injury to photojournalists on Al-Dhabab Front by Taiz News Facebook account. According to the post’s timestamp analysis* *tool, the time is 16:43 pm on 21 March 2016.*

Possible responsibility

The government forces, the Popular Resistance, and the media loyal to them blamed the Houthi forces for the attack, while the Houthi military media published a video on Telegram the day after the incident, describing it as showing their forces’ battles in Al-Dhabab area on 22 March 2016.

*A screenshot from Ansar Allah Media Center* *channel* on Telegram documenting a message published on 22 March 2016, a day after the incident. The message includes a video clip with scenes of Houthi forces during military confrontations on Al-Dhabab front.

An analysis of the Houthi media video published on 22 March, and comparing it with the video of Yemen Channel, which documented the incident on 21 March, showed a match in the scenes documented by both sides of the same moment in the battle, where smoke rose from the middle of the asphalt road and one of the fighters running along the road. This confirms that the Houthi video was documented on the same day of the incident.

video

Scenes of an identical situation appeared in both videos from Yemen Channel and Ansar Allah media center during the confrontations on Al-Dhabab Front, meters away from the location of the gathering, which includes photojournalists and government military forces.

The visual content shows the positions of the forces of both parties, the areas of their presence, and their movements in Al-Dhabab area on the day of the battle. It accurately identifies the points of concentration contributes to forming a clear understanding of the context of the incident and the nature of responsibility.

First site

The photographer of the Houthi Al-Masirah satellite channel stands next to fighters from the Houthi forces during direct confrontations. They are on a small mountain hill, next to which are landmarks found in the vicinity of the area referred to as the clash zone above, which is located between the central prison and the hangar point.

Distinctive landmarks appeared in Al-Masirah video near the location of the Houthi fighters and photographer, most notably a gas filling station with white tanks and a white hangar, in addition to a tree and small buildings a few meters away, which made it easy to locate the possible presence at coordinates 13.576363, 43.944859 northwest of the road.

*Screenshots from Al-Masirah Channel* *video* published by Ansar Allah Media Center on Telegram on 22 March 2016, showing a large tree and a small building next to a rocky hill on which the photographer was standing, along with white tanks and a hangar, the location of which was identified in the photo taken from Google Earth Pro *satellites* *in January 2017*

The video also shows Houthi forces overlooking areas where government forces and resistance forces were present in Al-Saleh Gardens and some buildings along the road.

*Screenshots from Al-Masirah TV* *video* from March 22, 2016, showing a view of the Houthi forces present near the photographer on the road leading to Al-Saleh Gardens at the top of the hill. A satellite image from Google Earth taken in December 2015 shows the directions of the photographer’s coverage of the area.

*Screenshots from Al-Masirah TV* *video* in 22 March 2016, showing additional places documented by the photographer, such as the water ferry under the road and a fence surrounding a hangar located on both sides of the road where government forces and photographers are concentrated, as shown by comparison with Google Earth satellite images taken in December 2015

Only about 400 meters separate the Houthi forces from the government forces in the first location, with buildings forming a protection wall and a relative obstruction of vision that helps protect oneself from any gunfire coming from this direction, as Yemen Channel shot shows.

*Screenshots from videos from* *Al-Masirah* *and* *Yemen* *satellite channels. Al-Masirah* *screenshot* *shows the rocky hill on which the Houthi fighters are standing, while Yemen channel* *screenshot* *shows the location of government forces and photographers, approximately* *400 meters* *away from the hill, according to the distance measurement tool of Google Earth Pro.*

Second site

Al Masirah TV cameraman went to the hill opposite to the west, where there were fighters of the Houthi forces who took control of the area, and the video showed them between the agricultural terraces.

*Screenshots from Al-Masirah TV* *video* *on 22 March 2016, revealed the presence of Houthi fighters among the agricultural terraces on the hill opposite where the photographer was standing after they had taken control of it.*

When the camera returned from zoom mode, it allowed a wider field of view of the landmarks above the hill where the Houthi fighters were located, and a building appeared at the top with a short brick wall next to it - used locally to draw the boundaries of plots ownership - located at coordinates 13.570893, 43.942086 separating it from the photographer's location about 700 meters, and approximately 650 meters west of where the government forces are located.

A screenshot from Al Masirah TV video from 22 March 2016, showing a house and a short wall surrounding an area on the hill after the photographer raised the camera to the top of the hill, and a Google Earth Pro satellite image taken in December 2015 showing the house and the wall at the top of the hill.

*Screenshots from the videos of* *Al-Masirah* *and* *Yemen* *satellite channels. Al-Masirah* *screenshot* *shows the hill opposite the photographer, where the Houthi fighters are located, while Yemen channel* *screenshot* *shows the location of the government forces and photographers, approximately* *650 meters* *west of the hill, according to the distance measurement tool of Google Earth Pro.*

Al-Masirah video also confirms the Houthis’ control over the other side of the hill, as it shows Houthi fighters stationed between the buildings overlooking the road near the hangar point at approximate coordinates 13.567728, 43.939908, which means that the hill, with both sides, is in the hands of the Houthis.

*A screenshot from Al Masirah TV* *video* *on 22 March, showing Houthi fighters on the second part of the hill overlooking the hangar point, as shown in the landmarks shown in the video after comparing them with a Google Earth Pro satellite* *image* *taken in December 2015 of the area.*

*A satellite image from Google Earth Pro taken in December 2015, showing the locations where the presence of Houthi forces was proven in Al-Masirah Channel* *video, marked with green marks, and the location of the government forces and photographers according to Yemen Channel* *video* *during the military confrontations on 21 March 2016 marked with a blue mark.*

Yemen Channel video shows the moment of running to the sound of gunfire and the hill controlled by the Houthis within a full view of the road and the area, making it a likely location for firing shots towards the gathering of forces and photographers affiliated with the Yemeni government.

*A screenshot from Yemen Channel* *video* on 21 March 2016 of the moment government forces and photographers ran from the gunfire on the day of the incident. The shot shows the hill where the Houthi forces are located, which directly overlooks the gathering place, as shown in the satellite image from Google Earth Pro taken in December 2015. The green marks indicates the Houthi positions, the blue mark indicates the journalists’ location.

Given the circumstances of the incident, the Houthis may have been largely responsible for opening fire on the gathering of photographers and fighters, which also included military vehicles, which indicates that the killing and wounding of the photojournalists who were on a mission to document the military confrontations may not have been intentional because they were near a military target.

Victims

Most of the available information and visual content showed that the attack killed a photojournalist and injured four others, when a group of them, alongside government forces and the Popular Resistance, were exposed to a barrage of bullets on Al-Dhabab front, west of Taiz.

Killed

Muhammad Muhammad Ghaleb Al-Majidi. Known as Muhammad Al-Yamani (photojournalist).

Conclusion

Yemeni Archive concluded that a photojournalist was killed, and four others were injured after they were exposed to a barrage of bullets while covering military confrontations between government forces backed by the Popular Resistance and Houthi forces on Al-Dhabab Front in Aqaqa area of Sabir Al-Mawadim District, west of Taiz city, on the evening of 21 March 2016.

The gathering included the photographers and military forces when they were exposed to intense gunfire. The analysis suggests that bullets came from the Houthi forces, which took control of a mountainous hill in the area overlooking the gathering location.

.css-68jq5d{padding-bottom:1.45rem;color:#ffffff;-webkit-transition:0.25s;transition:0.25s;}.css-68jq5d:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}INVESTIGATIONS

A photojournalist killed, others injured in Taiz

Table Of Contents

INVESTIGATIONS