Houthis block Taiz, cutting off 1.5 million residents
A 30-day siege has reduced hospital access by up to 70 percent and tripled travel costs for families trapped in southern Yemen.
By Rebecca Svoboda ·
The Houthi blockade of Taiz has trapped 1.5 million people in the city and surrounding rural districts for 30 days. The United Nations warns that food and medicine supplies are running out, creating a crisis for residents who cannot leave or receive aid.
The siege began when Houthi forces seized al-Turbah, a town in the southwest of Taiz governorate. This move cut the main road connecting the city to Aden and the rest of the country. Houthi fighters previously reached the city's outskirts in 2015, but the recent capture of the western countryside has completed the encirclement.
Ahmed al-Mikhlafi left Taiz with his wife and three children to perform Umrah in Mecca a week before the fighting started. When they returned, they found themselves stranded in the western countryside. They waited more than two weeks hoping the fighting would stop, but the siege held. The family eventually took a shared passenger vehicle toward the city.
The main route was closed, forcing the family onto a rough secondary road. They passed through nearly 20 new checkpoints established by the Houthis. Fifteen kilometers from the city entrance, a checkpoint stopped them and ordered them to turn back until the fighting subsided. They waited two days in a small rural hotel before continuing.
Travel costs have risen sharply. The fare from Aden to Taiz increased from 35 Saudi riyals to 100 Saudi riyals per passenger. The family also paid 100 Saudi riyals per night for hotel accommodation, where nine women and three children shared a single room.
Salah Ahmed Ghaleb al-Majidi, acting director of the governorate’s Siege Affairs Department, called this the worst siege in Yemen since the war began in 2014. He stated that the closure of roads is threatening family cohesion. Tons of rubbish are piling up on the streets because waste cannot be sent to landfills outside the city.
The health sector has felt the impact immediately. Taysir al-Samei, information officer at the governorate’s health office, reported that access to city hospitals dropped by 60 to 70 percent by the end of the second week. Hospitals face severe shortages of medical supplies and fuel needed to keep essential services running.
Residents are also unable to travel abroad for treatment. A young journalist, identified by the initials T F, suffers from chronic liver inflammation. His liver enzyme levels rose to 32 times the normal range. His doctor in Cairo recommended urgent treatment, but the siege has blocked his exit.
Al-Samei said rural residents can no longer reach health centers in the city. The blockade has created a barrier for about 180,000 displaced people living in the governorate's rural districts. The Houthi control of the western countryside has made movement between the countryside and the city nearly impossible.
The situation remains static as the 30-day mark passes. The United Nations continues to warn of catastrophe inside the city. Supplies of food, fuel, and water are not reaching the population. The Houthi forces maintain control over the main access routes, leaving residents to wait for the fighting to end.
