Siege of Yemen's Taiz Pushes Humanitarian Crisis to Breaking Point, UN Warns

The humanitarian situation in Yemen's city of Taiz has taken a grave turn under a tightening siege. The United Nations has warned that the blockade has cut humanitarian supplies to the city and left many inhabitants without food and other essentials. At the same time, government forces are launching major offensives across multiple front lines in the country.

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said on Tuesday that the Houthis, the armed group also known as Ansar Allah, must immediately allow humanitarian relief to enter or risk a catastrophe. In his words, 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.

Turk said humanitarian aid must be immediately allowed to enter the city and its passage must be facilitated, and that civilians wishing to leave must be allowed to do so freely and safely. Taiz has been encircled again by the Houthis after they captured a major road linking the city to southern Yemen; the city has been repeatedly besieged throughout the war.

The humanitarian situation in Taiz is reaching breaking point, with prices of basic commodities multiplying 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.

Turk urged all parties to refrain from using explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas and to take all feasible precautions to protect civilians and civilian objects. Yemen's internationally recognised government 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 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.

Fighting on the ground is also intensifying. 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.

Monday's Houthi ballistic missile strikes were condemned by the Yemeni government as a treacherous bloody assault and a war crime. Rashad al-Alimi, President of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, formally requested the UN to designate the Houthis as a terrorist organisation.

Regional tensions are rising too. The United Kingdom said on Tuesday it would deploy fighter jets to help protect Saudi Arabia from Houthi attacks, after cities and infrastructure were targeted in rocket and drone attacks. The British Ministry of Defence said the Typhoon warplanes would play a defensive role only and would not carry out attacks in Yemen. Egypt's parliament meanwhile delayed a vote on Monday to authorise the military to support Saudi Arabia in its fight against the Houthis.

Ali al-Dahab, a military and security strategic affairs expert, said that while there appears to be more international support for the anti-Houthi alliance, this will not likely translate into boots on the ground in Yemen. In his words, the probability of international ground forces engaging to confront the Houthis seems slim, and expected participation will be limited to air and naval support.

The Yemeni military launched a sweeping offensive dubbed Dawn of Yemen on October 5 to reverse recent Houthi advances. Despite initial successes, with hundreds of Houthi fighters reportedly killed in air strikes, questions remain over whether these counter-offensives have run out of steam. According to al-Dahab, the transition from defence to offence remains limited on the ground.

The intensification of ground battles 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 towards Riyadh, prompting Saudi Civil Defense to activate early warning platforms across the capital. The coalition has launched waves of strikes on Houthi positions across Yemen during the past week.

Taken together, the siege of Taiz, offensives across the country and growing regional involvement are deepening the Yemen crisis anew. Attention will now be on whether the UN appeal gets a response and whether aid reaches the besieged city.