The siege of Taiz has cut off humanitarian supplies to the Yemeni city, the United Nations warned, and left many of its residents without food and other basic necessities.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said on Tuesday that the Houthis – an armed group also known as Ansar Allah (Arabic for followers of God), who have surrounded the city, must immediately allow humanitarian aid in or risk catastrophe.
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“The Houthi closure of the only supply route from Taiz to Aden puts civilians at grave risk, blocks humanitarian aid and cuts 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.”
City under siege
Taiz, which was repeatedly besieged throughout the war, was once again surrounded by the Houthis after capturing a main road linking the city to southern Yemen.
The humanitarian situation in Taiz is reaching a breaking point with the rise in prices of basic products, in a context of shortages of certain products.
Continued fighting in Taiz governorate also killed at least 32 civilians between August 1 and October 19, including 14 children. More deaths are feared as the fighting approaches the city.
“I urge all parties to the conflict to refrain from using explosive weapons with large-scale effects in populated areas and to take all possible precautions to protect civilians and civilian objects,” Turk said.
Yemen’s internationally recognized government has called on the United Nations to intervene and lift the blockade, warning that the Houthi siege threatens more than 4 million people.
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has warned that shifting front lines and road closures have left 800,000 people without vital assistance, with the vast majority in Taiz. Nationally, more than 18 million Yemenis face severe food insecurity.
Forces aligned with the internationally recognized government launched airstrikes in Taiz governorate on Monday that destroyed Houthi reinforcements in Najd Qasim and an arms depot in Jabal Habashi.
The Yemeni government added on Tuesday that its forces had stopped Houthi attempts to advance through Taiz, including in al-Shaqab, al-Misrakh, al-Aqroudh and Jabal Han.
Shabwa attack
On Tuesday, local authorities raised the death toll to 73 following a Houthi attack on a military base in Shabwa governorate.
The Houthis’ ballistic missile strikes on the al-Alam camp have been condemned by the Yemeni government as a “bloody and treacherous attack” and a war crime.
The chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Council, Rashad al-Alimi, has officially asked the UN to designate the Houthis as a “terrorist organization”.
The UK said on Tuesday it would deploy warplanes to help protect Saudi Arabia from attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, after towns and infrastructure were targeted by rocket and drone attacks.
Britain’s Ministry of Defense said the Typhoon fighter jets would only play a “defensive role” and would not carry out attacks in Yemen.
The Egyptian Parliament, for its part, on Monday delayed the vote authorizing the army to support Saudi Arabia in its fight against the Houthis.
Ali al-Dahab, an expert on strategic military and security affairs, said that while there appears to be increased international support for the anti-Houthi alliance, this is unlikely to translate into a presence on the ground in Yemen.
“The likelihood of international ground forces being committed to confront the Houthis appears slim; the expected participation will be limited to air and naval support,” he told Al Jazeera.
The Yemeni army launched a vast offensive on October 5 called “The Dawn of Yemen” to thwart the recent advances of the Houthis. But despite the initial successes in the first days of the campaign, with hundreds of Houthi fighters reportedly killed in airstrikes, one wonders whether these counter-offensives are running out of steam.
“The transition from defense to offense remains limited on the ground, and the Yemeni government’s map of influence in al-Marib (an energy-rich part of central Yemen) has not expanded to the extent implied by the direction of (the operation),” al-Dahab told Al Jazeera.
“Government forces must exploit the gaps created by conventional and drone airstrikes in the Houthi ranks by launching a multi-directional operation that will make it a strategic shift, particularly in the northwest direction towards Sanaa. »
Cross-border strikes
Intensifying ground fighting in Yemen has triggered a wave of cross-border attacks between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi-led coalition said Tuesday it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis toward Riyadh. The attack prompted Saudi civil defense to activate early warning platforms across the capital.
The Arab coalition has launched waves of strikes against Houthi positions across Yemen over the past week.
“Strategically and in the long term, (attrition airstrikes) can have a tangible impact on the Houthis’ military infrastructure, structures, machinery and vehicles,” al-Dahab said.
He, however, questioned the government’s ability to capitalize on these strikes on the west coast, where the Yemeni government is trying to recoup losses suffered by the Houthis.
“Do government forces have enough power to launch an attack towards Moka on the coast or towards Hodeidah? asked al-Dahab, pointing out that Houthi fighters are desperately clinging to the Kahboub mountains in Lahij for their commanding maritime view of the Gulf of Aden and the southern Red Sea.
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