(15 Mar 2017) LEADIN:
A group of young Yemenis are tackling their feelings on the war through street art.
They painted the walls of a university with messages of peace in the capital Sanaa.
STORYLINE:
Sitting on the pavement this young man prepares his weapon against the civil war in Yemen.
But it's not a rifle... it's a tin of paint.
He's one of dozens of Yemeni art lovers who've gathered in the capital Sanaa to join a street art campaign against Yemen's devastating two-year war.
The event, dubbed "Open Day for Art", is held every year on 15 March and is organised by street artist and political activist Murad Subai:
"Of course it is a message for peace and to renounce the political situation we are living in and also the war, hatred and the like, and for diversity. And it is also a message from the Yemeni society to politicians to find a quick solution to this catastrophic situation we are in," he says.
Participants gather with paint and brushes in central Yemen to cover the walls of a university with messages of peace.
One artist, Haifa Subai, explains the meaning behind her painting, titled "Departing Soldiers".
"This painting symbolises the call for peace, the end of the war and the ongoing conflict for years in Yemen."
Another, a graphic designer called Tamam Al-Shibani, underlines the power of painting:
"Art is a great message in which we challenge political and inflammatory rhetoric calling for murder and political conflict," he says.
The war in Yemen began in 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition waged a devastating air campaign targeting Houthi rebels who seized control of the capital.
The conflict has pushed one of the Arab world's poorest countries to the brink of famine.
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