Yemen...an international warning about the worsening humanitarian crisis in Taiz and demands from the Houthis to allow aid to enter

The United Nations expressed, on Tuesday, its deep concern about the rapid deterioration of the humanitarian and economic situation in the besieged Yemeni city of Taiz, warning that road closures and insecurity are impeding the flow of vital supplies, putting the lives of millions of people at risk. The city of Taiz - the third largest city in Yemen - is under the control of the internationally recognized government, but is under siege imposed by Iranian-backed Houthi militants, who control main access roads and impose strict restrictions on the movement of people and goods.

The city, located in the southwestern part of the country, is home to hundreds of thousands of residents, while the population of the governorate as a whole is more than 3.5 million people, according to the “Local Governance in Yemen” project. In a statement, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Laurent Bokera, said that the restrictions imposed by the Houthis prevent vital goods - including fuel - from reaching the city and its surrounding areas, leaving many residents without basic services or essential goods.

“The health system is on the verge of collapse,” Bukera noted, warning that the lack of fuel needed to operate hospitals and provide oxygen supplies threatens the lives of hundreds of patients. The UN official also explained that the prices of remaining food and fuel have doubled, which has increased the burden on families who are already struggling to provide their basic needs.

He also warned that hundreds of thousands of families face increasing difficulties in obtaining water, after water production in the city decreased by half and alternative sources dried up. Bokera called on the Houthi group to urgently open safe corridors to allow the entry of basic goods, foodstuffs, medicines, and humanitarian aid into Taiz without any obstacles.

He stressed that providing safe and unhindered humanitarian access is crucial to maintaining basic services and reaching affected communities, before hunger, preventable diseases and injuries claim more lives. In a related context, over the weekend, the Yemeni government urged military personnel in areas under Houthi control in Taiz Governorate not to respond to the group’s attempts to recruit or mobilize them into its ranks.

The government accused the group of seeking to recruit individuals to carry out operations that would tighten the siege on the city and fight other Yemenis. Taiz was a major center for the uprising that broke out in 2011 against then-President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and has long remained a strategic target in the country's civil war.

The city is gaining strategic importance. It represents the last major urban stronghold of anti-Houthi forces in the southern highlands of Yemen, overlooking the city of Aden - where the internationally recognized government is based - and the entrances to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which is a vital sea lane for global trade.