Journalist Almigdad Mojalli freelanced for VOA from October 2015 until his death January 2016, specializing in reporting on humanitarian issues in Yemen. He was mortally wounded in Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on January 17, 2016, near the Yemeni capital of Sana’a while filming the aftermath of a previous air raid on a civilian area. He was 34 years old.
Mojalli, who had also worked for the London-based Telegraph and the U.N. humanitarian news agency IRIN, was one of only a handful of Yemeni journalists working with international news organizations. According to The Telegraph, friends said his car was struck by an air strike as it traveled to Jarif, a Houthi-controlled district where bombing raids killed 21 civilians days earlier. He was traveling with an AFP photojournalist, Bahir Hameed, who survived.
Mojalli continued to report from the field despite receiving threats and seeing family members die in previous air strikes.
Mojalli leaves behind seven dependents, including a wife and a young son.