In Taiz, Yemen, 14-year-old Ibrahim was shot dead by a sniper while walking to school with his siblings. Locals blame Houthi forces; Taiz has been under siege for 11 years and remains vulnerable despite a relative freeze in large-scale fighting since 2022. A 2025 UN report found that Taiz accounted for 66% of recorded sniper killings in Yemen, including nine children. The killing prompted large funerals, school vigils and condemnations from rights groups and education officials.
“Why My Child?” — Taiz Mourns After Sniper Kills 14-Year-Old Student
Ibrahim Jalal was killed by a sniper in Taiz as he walked to school with his sister, Baraa [Courtesy of Jalal family]
Taiz, Yemen — Umm Ibrahim sat in a relative's home, grieving and asking the question on many lips: “Why did they kill my child, my source of strength?” Her 14-year-old son, Ibrahim, was shot dead by a sniper on his way to school while walking with his younger siblings.
Family members and residents have blamed Houthi forces for the killing. Taiz has been besieged by the Houthis for 11 years and sits along a contested frontline between Houthi-controlled areas and territory held by the Yemeni government. Although large-scale fighting has largely been frozen since 2022, deadly incidents — including sniper attacks — continue to claim civilian lives.
How it happened
Ibrahim was about 150 metres (500 ft) from his home in the al-Dairi Kilabah neighbourhood when he was struck. Locals estimated the shooter was roughly a kilometre (0.6 miles) away. His 11-year-old sister, Baraa, told reporters that the two had been joking moments before he staggered into her arms and collapsed; she fainted after seeing his wounds.
Umm Ibrahim had been at home preparing lunch when a motorbike rider arrived with the news. She has decided to keep Baraa and her nine-year-old brother, Ayman, at home for the rest of the school year while the family copes with the trauma.
Local context and risks
Taiz's mountainous terrain gives sharpshooters elevated vantage points over the city, and residents point to makeshift panels along streets intended to obstruct lines of sight. A government soldier in the area warned that these barriers have been insufficient to stop semi-regular sniper fire: “A sniper hiding in one of those buildings will see you, and this could be your last day.”
A 2025 United Nations Civilian Impact Monitoring Project report found that 66 percent of recorded sniper killings in Yemen occurred in Taiz city and the wider governorate, amounting to 21 deaths, including nine children. Civilians here have also been killed by shelling and drone strikes.
Public reaction and official responses
The killing prompted widespread anger in Taiz. Thousands attended Ibrahim’s funeral in a show of solidarity with victims of sniper attacks, and several local schools held protest vigils with students carrying banners denouncing the violence. Taiz’s government-run Education Office condemned the killing as a “cowardly terrorist” act.
“When a sniper points the muzzle of his rifle at a child wearing a school uniform, the message is clear: there is no sacred space,” said Najib al-Kamali, head of the Alef Observatory for the Protection of Education and Children’s Rights. “Targeting a child on their educational journey is more than a violation — it is a symbolic assassination of hope.”
Rights groups warn that treating such attacks as isolated incidents risks normalizing violence against students and could produce long-term barriers to education for a generation growing up under fear.
Human cost
Beyond the statistics, Ibrahim’s death underscores the personal losses suffered by families in Taiz: Umm Ibrahim, who lost her husband nearly a decade ago under mysterious circumstances, had come to rely on her eldest son as a pillar of support. The community’s grief and anger reflect broader anxieties about safety, schooling and the future in a city that has endured years of siege and intermittent violence.
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