A Yemeni photographer and videographer who contributed to AFP, Abdullah al-Qadry, was killed in shelling Friday in the centre of the country, his colleagues said. Qadry died while on assignment for Yemen's Belqees television, the station said. A security source said Shiite Huthi rebels were behind the shelling.
Three other journalists were also wounded in the shelling of Qaniyah, near the border between Marib and Baida provinces in the centre of the country. Qadry died from a shrapnel wound to the neck, according to a doctor at the hospital to which he was evacuated. A journalist in his thirties, he had been married for a year and had one child.
Journalists who worked with Qadry praised his courage and determination. Qaniyah was retaken by pro-government forces on Wednesday and fierce fighting in the area has continued. Yemeni AFP photographer Saleh Al-Obeidi was seriously injured in April 2017 during rebel bombing near Mokha in the country's southwest. Since March 2015, at least 15 journalists have been killed in Yemen, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
The conflict in Yemen has raged for three years, pitting pro-government forces backed by neighbouring Saudi Arabia and its allies against Iran-backed Huthi rebels. The Huthis control the capital Sanaa. Nearly 10,000 people have been killed and more than 54,000 injured in what the United Nations has called "the world's worst humanitarian crisis".