Yemen’s Taiz faces deadly siege, as Shabwah death toll rises

Government forces launch major offensives across multiple Yemeni front lines as the tightening blockade on Taiz threatens millions of Yemenis. Save Share The siege on Taiz has cut humanitarian supplies to the Yemeni city, the United Nations has warned, and left many of its inhabitants without food and other essentials. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said on Tuesday that the Houthis – an armed group also known as Ansar Allah (Arabic for Supporters of God), who have surrounded the city, must immediately allow humanitarian relief to enter or risk a catastrophe. “The Houthis’ closure of the only supply route linking Taiz to Aden is placing civilians at grave risk, blocking humanitarian aid and cutting off essential supplies,” the high commissioner said. “Humanitarian aid must be immediately allowed to enter the city and its passage must be facilitated. Civilians wishing to leave must be allowed to do so freely and safely.” Taiz, which has been repeatedly besieged throughout the war, has been encircled again by the Houthis after they captured a major road linking the city to southern Yemen. The humanitarian situation in Taiz is reaching a breaking point with the prices of basic commodities multiplying in price, amid shortages of some goods. Continued fighting in Taiz governorate has also killed at least 32 civilians between August 1 and October 19, including 14 children. There are fears of more deaths as fighting approaches the city. “I urge all parties to the conflict to refrain from the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas and to take all feasible precautions to protect civilians and civilian objects,” Turk said. Yemen’s internationally recognised government had appealed to the United Nations to intervene and lift the blockade, warning that the Houthi siege threatens more than 4 million people. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that shifting front lines and road closures have cut off 800,000 people from life-saving assistance, the vast majority located in Taiz. Nationwide, more than 18 million Yemenis face severe food insecurity. Forces aligned with the internationally-recognised government on Monday launched air strikes in Taiz governorate that destroyed Houthi reinforcements in Najd Qasim and a weapons depot in Jabal Habashi. On Tuesday, local authorities raised the death toll from a Houthi attack on a military base in Shabwa governorate to 73....