Dodging snipers, housing crisis forces Yemenis to live on front line

The housing crisis in Taiz, Yemen's central city, has created an impossible situation for low-income families caught between economic desperation and active conflict. Um Yousef, a single mother of four whose husband died while working abroad, exhausted her options after eight months searching for affordable accommodation. Standard three-bedroom rentals in the city cost approximately $130 monthly—far beyond her means as the sole family breadwinner in a nation where poverty has deepened significantly since the war began over a decade ago.

With limited alternatives, Um Yousef made the difficult decision to relocate her family to a home near Taiz's front line, where territory is divided between Yemeni government forces and Houthi rebels. The monthly rent of $13 was the only option she could manage, despite the documented dangers of the area. The decision proved immediately consequential when, two months after moving in January 2025, her 11-year-old son was shot while playing outside. Though his injuries proved less severe than initially feared and he was discharged from hospital the next day, the incident underscored the real risks families face.

Taiz presents particular vulnerability to sniper fire due to its urban geography. The front line runs through the city itself, and the hilly terrain with an overlooking mountain creates numerous elevated positions ideal for snipers. According to a United Nations monitoring project, 66 percent of all civilian casualties from sniper shootings across Yemen in the past year occurred in Taiz, with nine of the 21 recorded cases involving children.

Despite the trauma of her son's shooting, Um Yousef remains unable to relocate. Instead, she has adapted to the environment by adopting precautions used by other residents: extinguishing lights in rooms visible from distance at night and restricting children's outdoor play to areas behind houses. These measures represent the grim reality for families trapped between housing scarcity and active conflict zones.