More than 250,000 displaced in Yemen since fighting escalated: UNHCR

UNICEF says escalating fighting in Taiz is threatening its water systems, serving an estimated three million people. Save Share More than 250,000 people have been internally displaced in Yemen since the country’s war reignited in July, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has said, as fighting between Houthi rebels and forces loyal to the internationally recognised government rages across several fronts. The city of Taiz in southwestern Yemen is at the centre of the displacement crisis, accounting for 76 percent of departures and hosting 52 percent of those newly displaced, UNHCR said in a statement on Tuesday. Lahij in southwestern Yemen hosts 23 percent of the newly displaced population, followed by Aden in the south with 13 percent, UNHCR said. “Shelling intensified in Taiz, including in residential areas and around health facilities, while insecurity and restrictions along key routes continue to constrain humanitarian access and movement,” the agency said in a statement. The Houthis, an armed group also known as Ansar Allah (Arabic for Supporters of God), have encircled Taiz since early October, blocking the road that links it to Aden, the interim capital of the Saudi-backed internationally recognised government. “The most immediate needs that we’ve been able to identify are around shelter, food, and multi-purpose cash assistance,” UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh told a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland. The agency said about 33,700 families still require shelter assistance amid severe underfunding of the humanitarian response to the war. Separately, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement that escalating fighting and fuel shortages in Taiz are threatening its water systems that serve an estimated three million people, including at least 1.6 million children. “Already one of Yemen’s most water-scarce areas, Taiz is now facing renewed pressure on its most essential services for thousands of displaced families,” said Akhil Iyer, UNICEF’s Yemen representative, at a press briefing in Geneva. The warnings come as fighting intensifies between Saudi-backed government forces and the Iran-aligned Houthis. The death toll from aHouthi ballistic missile strikeon a military training camp in Yemen’s Shabwa governorate increased to at least 58, local authorities said. The Yemeni government described the site as asecurity training centreaway from the front lines, while Houthi forces said they targeted Saudi-backed forces....