Arabic version: حصار تعز يفاقم معاناة اليمنيين

According to Al Jazeera, a Houthi siege of Taiz has lasted 30 days, cutting off food, medicine, fuel and water supplies and affecting hundreds of thousands of people. The United Nations has repeatedly warned of a catastrophe in the city, where essential goods are becoming increasingly scarce.

The siege began after the Houthis seized al-Turbah in southwestern Taiz governorate, severing the city’s main connection with Aden and the outside world. The recent takeover of western countryside areas has completely encircled Taiz, affecting 1.5 million people in the city as well as rural residents and about 180,000 displaced people trapped by clashes along the Lahj-Taiz road.

Salah Ahmed Ghaleb al-Majidi, acting director of the governorate’s Siege Affairs Department, said food, fuel, medical supplies and water were not reaching the city. Rubbish that cannot be taken to landfill has accumulated in streets, while road closures have also separated families in Taiz city and the surrounding countryside.

Ahmed al-Mikhlafi and his wife, Umm Adam, were stranded after returning from Umrah in Mecca with their three children. Their route from Aden was diverted onto a rough secondary road, where they encountered nearly 20 newly established Houthi checkpoints. Stopped about 15 kilometres from the city entrance, they waited two days in a rural hotel before continuing. Transport costs rose from 35 Saudi riyals per passenger before the renewed fighting to 100 riyals on their return.

Health services have also been disrupted. Taysir al-Samei, information officer at the governorate’s health office, said access to Taiz hospitals had dropped by 60 to 70 percent by the end of the siege’s second week. Hospitals face supply and fuel shortages, while residents requiring treatment outside Yemen have been unable to leave the city.