Taiz – Civilians in Taiz woke up to the death of three journalists and the injury of two others, who all were targeted by Houthi and Saleh militias on Friday.

Wael al-Absi, Takieddin al-Hutheifi and Saad al-Nithari, three cameramen, were killed while covering the ongoing battles around the Ceremonials Military Camp, east of Taiz.

Waleed Al-Qadasi, a fourth journalist, was wounded and had one of his legs amputated, and the fifth, Salah Adeen al-Wahbani, sustained shrapnel in his right hand and now is in hospital.

The journalists were killed in cold blood as they were covering the clashes in the eastern front, and according to member of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate Nabil al-Osaidi, there are no fighters in the targeted area.

The attacks on the journalists prompted Yemen’s Ministry of Mass Media to strongly denounce the attack calling it a massacre.

In a statement, the Ministry said: “The massacre against journalists is part of the massacres the militias have been waging against the densely populated areas, causing dozens of deaths and injuries including women and children.”

“The massacres against civilians and journalists require legal action and handling as war crimes by international courts,” the statement added.

Attacking the journalists coincides with the escalation by insurgents who have been targeting civilians and trying to advance toward the positions of the national army and the popular resistance in a number of fronts, especially eastern and western fronts, in an attempt to restore sites they were defeated in and to compensate for their human and material losses.

Yemeni journalist Ahmed al-Sohaibi couldn’t hold his tears as he said that what happened “comes within a series of great sacrifices made by the media center in Taiz, which represents a great loss for us, as colleagues and friends.”

“War and militias’ attacks won’t stop us from delivering the truth and won’t kill our dreams in building a new and bright country for all Yemenis,” Sohaibi added.

For his part, Osaidi said that the number of journalists killed in Yemen has reached 24 in two and a half years of the coup.

“This alarming number puts Yemen at the top of the most threatening countries to the lives of journalists and puts Houthi and Saleh militias in the first place in targeting, killing, arresting and abducting of journalists.”