The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned an April 26 drone strike by Houthi forces that killed Yemeni journalist and filmmaker Musab al-Hattami and injured his brother, photographer Suhaib al-Hattami, near the city of Marib.
Musab al-Hattami was in the region working on a documentary about his parents’ hometown. Three government soldiers also died in the attack.
“The killing of Musab al-Hattami is yet another stark reminder to the international community that the warring parties in Yemen are violating international law by killing civilians,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “Such indiscriminate violence exposes all journalists who are brave enough to document the war in Yemen to extreme risk.”
Qudah urged international bodies to investigate the incident and hold those responsible accountable.
Al-Hattami had left Yemen to study film in Jordan before relocating to the Netherlands, where he became a citizen. He worked as a freelance journalist, producing documentaries and writing for outlets such as Al Jazeera.
His death brings the number of journalists killed in Yemen to 20 since 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition began airstrikes against the Houthi rebels who had seized the capital, Sanaa.
In a separate case, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula announced in December 2024 that it had executed 11 people, including journalist Mohamed Al-Maqri, who was abducted in 2015 and accused of spying. Between 2015 and 2020, 18 journalists were killed in Yemen.
