Yemen: Children brave snipers and mortars to go to school near front line

Rafeef says the journey to school terrifies her, but she is determined to keep going

Every morning at 6am, 10-year-old Rafeef and her younger brother get ready for school, putting on their cream and brown uniforms.

But for Rafeef, the journey to school involves far greater risks than crossing roads or missing the bus.

On one side of the school is government-held territory, on the other are Houthi sniper positions.

Every time she goes to school, she has to walk uphill with her back towards the snipers. "I'm afraid," she says.

Rafeef's school is overlooked by Houthi positions on the mountains beyond the valley

According to Unicef, roughly 3.2 million children in Yemen were out of school even before the war escalated last month.

Yet despite the risks, Rafeef says she does not want to stop going because she loves seeing her friends and it is her only chance to be with them. She begins naming the children in her classroom.

Rafeef's family moved to Taiz from the coastal city of Hudaydah nine years ago, seeking safety when Houthis took control there.

Rafeef says that two years ago there was a mortar attack outside her new home.

And in recent days the conflict has intensified. On Sunday the Houthis cut off a vital supply route linking Taiz to Aden, which meant they were able to effectively encircle Taiz. Control of that route has kept shifting.

Government forces have made gains in other areas this week, they say, retaking control of strategic points on the Bab al-Mandab Strait - a key shipping chokepoint - and launching an offensive to try to regain control of the capital, Sanaa.