United Nations has warned that Yemen’s growing exodus is deepening the humanitarian crisis as Taiz faces an escalating aid emergency, with more than 250,000 people fleeing renewed conflict. Blocked supply routes are disrupting aid deliveries and threatening civilians’ access to food, clean water and essential medical supplies.
UN noted that the closure of the only supply route linking Taiz to Aden by Houthi fighters had effectively blocked access to the city and the wider governorate, preventing humanitarian agencies from delivering critical assistance to vulnerable communities.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called on the Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah, to immediately allow humanitarian aid into the affected areas, warning that the “closure of the only supply route linking Taiz to Aden is placing civilians at grave risk, blocking humanitarian aid and cutting off essential supplies.”
According to the United Nations, 32 civilians have been confirmed killed across the governorate, including 14 children and nine women.
The organisation warned that the number of casualties could rise as hostilities intensify and humanitarian conditions deteriorate.
The clashes between Houthi fighters and Yemen’s internationally recognised government, based in Aden, began last month, ending the relative calm that followed the 2022 truce.
The situation in Taiz has become particularly concerning because approximately half of those recently displaced by the fighting have sought shelter in the city and surrounding areas, placing additional pressure on already overstretched services and scarce resources.
According to Akhil Iyer, UNICEF Representative in Yemen, “Taiz is certainly the number one concern at the moment in an ocean of concerns.”
“Many people have fled repeatedly. They are arriving in already overcrowded camps or communities with little or no food. Clean water is almost non-existent when they arrive. They’ve literally arrived with just the clothes on their backs, and they have almost nothing left to sustain themselves.”
Akhil Iyer, UNICEF Representative in Yemen
The UN World Food Programme reported that wheat flour stocks in affected areas of Taiz were nearly exhausted, raising fears of further deterioration in a governorate already struggling with severe hunger.
UNICEF Representative in Yemen stated that 10 of Taiz’s 16 districts were already classified at emergency levels of food insecurity before the latest escalation, leaving communities with limited capacity to withstand further disruptions.
The humanitarian crisis has also affected sanitation services, with garbage accumulating in parts of Taiz city as essential waste management operations grind to a halt.
UNICEF warned that insecurity and blocked roads were making it increasingly difficult and dangerous for humanitarian agencies to reach vulnerable communities and deliver fuel, food and other essential supplies.
The restrictions have also prevented the distribution of ready-to-use therapeutic food to health facilities, despite UNICEF having positioned sufficient supplies before the conflict escalated early last month.
According to Akhil Iyer, the supplies remained inaccessible because “all of the routes are closed.”
Hospitals Face Fuel Shortages as Disease Risks Increase
The disruption of essential supplies has equally prompted fears about a worsening public health emergency in a country already dealing with outbreaks of cholera and measles, alongside suspected cases of diphtheria and dengue.
UNICEF warned that water and sanitation systems in Taiz are particularly vulnerable because diesel fuel is required to operate pumping stations supplying communities in and around the city.
The blockade and restrictions on supply routes from Aden have threatened fuel deliveries, increasing the risk of interruptions to water services and worsening sanitation conditions.
The World Health Organization (WHO) also warned that hospitals were running critically low on essential supplies.
WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic reported that 12 hospitals in Taiz had approximately four days of fuel remaining, while oxygen cylinders needed for patient care were already in a daily deficit.
The situation has been compounded by shortages of medicines, with 115 of the 127 essential medicines monitored having stocks sufficient for about one week or less.
The shortages threaten the ability of health facilities to maintain services as displaced families arrive and the risk of disease transmission increases amid deteriorating water and sanitation conditions.
UNICEF has called on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and children, safeguard water systems and health facilities, and comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, including allowing humanitarian organisations to reach affected populations.
The agency stressed that maintaining access to fuel, water, medical supplies and nutrition services is essential to preventing further deterioration in the humanitarian situation.
UN Agencies Raise Alarm Over Vulnerable Refugees and Civilians
The crisis also surpasses Yemenis displaced by the recent attacks, with refugees and asylum-seekers also facing urgent protection and assistance needs.
Matthew Saltmarsh, spokesperson for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), stressed that access restrictions were preventing aid teams from reaching many of those most in need, although protection activities continued in areas where access remained possible.
He warned that approximately 65,000 refugees and asylum-seekers in Yemen also urgently required support, most of them from Somalia and Ethiopia.
The latest displacement adds to the pressure on humanitarian organisations attempting to assist vulnerable populations while insecurity restricts movement and disrupts the delivery of essential supplies.
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