GENEVA – SAM for Rights and Liberties stated that the Houthi group’s continued targeting of unarmed civilians, specifically children and women in Taiz Governorate, constitutes a grave and systematic violation of International Humanitarian Law and human rights standards. This persistence reflects a deliberate intent to terrorize the population and threaten their inherent right to life and personal security. The organization emphasized that the intentional firing of live ammunition at the chests of children, students, and women in residential areas far from any military confrontations represents a full-fledged war crime and a blatant disregard for international standards that mandate the protection of civilians in armed conflicts.

The organization explained that snipers affiliated with the Houthi group committed a horrific crime at noon today, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in the Al-Safaa neighborhood of the Kalaba area. They targeted 14-year-old Ibrahim Jalal Amin with a fatal bullet directly to the heart. SAM added that Ibrahim died instantly while leaving his school to return home accompanied by his sister. His discarded school bag remains a new, tragic witness to the magnitude of the ongoing violations and the predatory targeting of children within their educational and residential environments.

SAM reviewed video clips and photographs documenting the crime scene of the sniper attack on Ibrahim Jalal. The footage clearly shows the child's body covered in blood next to his school bag, a scene that documents the direct intent to target civilian objects and children. The visual materials also highlight that the crime occurred in a civilian environment and a residential neighborhood as the child and his sister were leaving school. This categorically refutes the existence of any clashes or military targets in the vicinity of the incident, proving the intent of premeditated murder and the aim to spread terror among peaceful residents, in flagrant defiance of the principle of distinction stipulated by the rules of International Humanitarian Law.

In a related context, the organization documented another sniper crime committed by the same forces on the morning of the same day, targeting 26-year-old Shifa Hatem Ali Rashid. She sustained a severe injury from a sniper's bullet in her leg while leaving her home in the village of Al-Ahtoub, Jabal Habashi District, western Taiz. The organization noted that Shifa is the second victim in her family, after her sister was previously injured in a similar sniper incident in the same area. This confirms a deliberate pattern aimed at terrorizing the civilian population, restricting their movement, and depriving them of their most basic rights to safe passage and the ability to conduct their daily lives in peace.

SAM for Rights and Liberties stressed that sniper attacks directed at civilians, particularly school students and women in Taiz, amount to war crimes under the Rome Statute and the Geneva Conventions, which strictly prohibit directing attacks against civilian objects and unarmed individuals. The organization pointed out that the absence of deterrent international accountability has encouraged the continuation of this series of horrific crimes that claim innocent lives and target the stability of local communities in the governorate.

The organization called on the international community, human rights organizations, and the UN Envoy to Yemen to take firm positions and urgent measures to exert actual pressure on the Houthi group to stop its direct and continuous attacks on residential neighborhoods. It emphasized the importance of activating international criminal accountability mechanisms to prosecute the perpetrators of these horrific violations and the commanders responsible for issuing such orders, ensuring they do not escape punishment and that justice is achieved for the victims.