A/HRC/42/CRP.1 have anything because of the siege on the city.”445 The second witness had been injured in a previous mortar attack on the neighbourhood on 10 August 2015, when he had suffered head injuries.446 311. One witness described the neighbourhood as “crowded, modest, and full of residents.”447 At the time of the attack, the area was under the control of the Resistance, as was most of the city. Specifically, the Hasm Brigades,448 who were reportedly in control of this area at the time, were known to be present in the area from time to time. 449 The Resistance were reportedly in control of two buildings, the National Institute for Administrative Sciences and the Central Organization for Control and Accountability, situated approximately half a kilometre away in a north-westerly direction from where the mortar round landed.450 This attack was allegedly launched from the area of the People’s Palace, also known as the Republican Palace, or from 60 th street, both of which at the time of the attack were under the control of the Houthi-Saleh fighters.451 One local resident stated, “people understand that it has been launched from the Palace of the Peoples in the east where the Houthis were, no one was in the West".452 312. Houthi-Saleh fighters were known to possess mortars like those used in this attack, and the positions they held in the city were well within the range of the locations where these weapons impacted. Moreover, the mortars landed in a part of the city under the control of the Yemeni armed forces and affiliated groups. The Group of Experts found reasonable grounds to believe that Houthi-Saleh fighters caused the death and injury of civilians and destruction of civilian objects in this case through the use of indirect-fire weapons with wide area impact in a civilian populated area. Sniper attack killing journalist Ahmed al-Shibani, 16 February 2016 313. For those who are also working near the frontlines, such as journalists and activists, the risks have been immense. The journalist Ahmed al-Shibani was shot dead by a sniper, reportedly a Houthi-Saleh fighter, on 16 February 2016 as he and colleagues were covering events in an area near the plastics factory in al-Hawban, east of the city.453 The killing was filmed and broadcasted by the Yemen Shabab television channel and shows that a single gunshot was fired, striking al-Shibani while he crossed the street, seconds after three other civilians crossed at the exact same spot.454 A colleague who was working with him that day said that, while they were not wearing any press vests that day, they were confident that they had been previously identified as journalists as they were carrying a camera, clearly identifiable as such.455 The Committee for the Protection of Journalists issued a statement about his killing and called on all sides to uphold their responsibility not to target journalists.456 314. The Group of Experts found reasonable grounds to believe that a Houthi-Saleh sniper was responsible for this deliberate killing. Violations 315. International humanitarian law prohibits direct attacks against civilians and attacks may only be directed against those directly participating in hostilities. Intentionally 445 Confidential Sources on File. Confidential Sources on File. 447 Confidential Sources on File. 448 Under the command of Adnan Rzaiq. 449 Mwatana, “Chapters from Hell, Violations of the International Human Rights Law the armed ground conflict in Taiz”, 6 November 2016, p.50. 450 Ibid, p. 50. 451 Confidential Sources on File. 452 Confidential Sources on File. 453 Confidential Sources on File. 454 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMRN95YcGkY (Last Accessed on 17 July 2019). 455 Confidential Sources on File. 456 Committee to Protect Journalists, “Yemeni journalist killed in Ta’izz”, 17 February 2016. 446 73