In western Yemen, thousands of civilians are fleeing the areas of confrontation in a hurry, carrying whatever clothes, blankets and cooking utensils they could salvage, while leaving behind their homes and possessions, in search of a safer place. As the fighting expands, their space of safety narrows, and the ability of host communities to absorb new waves of displacement declines.
The displacement movement is concentrated in the districts of Maqbana, Jabal Habashi, and Al-Maafer, west of Taiz Governorate, in addition to the Hays district, south of Hodeidah, where displaced families arrive in areas lacking shelter, food, water, and health services, amid clear limitations in the humanitarian response.
Government sources confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the intensification of confrontations in the areas of contact lines in the Maqbanah District caused a massive wave of forced displacement, with thousands of families forced to quickly leave their homes and property.
The sources said that the displaced people are heading to the isolated areas and neighboring villages, and are particularly crowded in the areas of Al-Afeira and Al-Fakika and the Al-Hasbari camp, at a time when the resources available to the host communities are no longer able to absorb the increasing numbers.
She explained that many displaced families were forced to sleep outdoors, while other families resorted to sharing housing with host families and their limited resources, which in turn suffer from a scarcity of resources, which led to a worsening of the humanitarian situation in the reception areas.
Demanding urgent interventions
The sources warned that the situation requires urgent field intervention to provide tents, emergency shelter, blankets and food baskets, in addition to providing direct aid to children and women to reduce the risks of acute malnutrition.
It also called for the establishment of temporary bathrooms to prevent the spread of epidemics, and the sending of mobile medical clinics to deal with critical illness cases, in light of the absence of basic services in many displacement sites.
The government side renewed its appeal to the international community and humanitarian organizations to move without delay to rescue civilians and limit the aggravation of their suffering, warning that continued displacement without an urgent response will increase pressure on the receiving areas.
In Al-Maafer District, sources working in the humanitarian field reported continued displacement from the Al-Kadha, Al-Sharajah, and Al-Malika areas, coinciding with the continuation of confrontations and deteriorating security conditions, and the arrival of hundreds of families to the Al-Sana area, in the village of Al-Shaqadif, in search of a safe place to protect women, children, and the elderly.
The sources explained that a new site had been identified to receive the displaced in the village of Al-Shaqadif in the Al-Sunna region, on the road linking the Al-Maafer and Al-Mawasit districts. However, the site lacks the most basic elements of shelter and protection, at a time when the movement of arrivals to it continues, coinciding with the Houthis’ infiltration into the Bani Bakari area in the Jabal Habashi district.
Some displaced people were forced to live in tents and open sites that lack basic services, amid urgent needs for potable water, food, shelter, health care and protection.
The displaced people appealed to international and local humanitarian organizations, United Nations agencies, government agencies, local authorities, and organizations working in Taiz Governorate to quickly intervene and respond to the worsening crisis.
Relief sector workers have identified the most urgent needs for shelter supplies and tents, drinking water tanks and sources, food supplies, medical services, medicines, first aid, hygiene and public health supplies, in addition to providing protection services for women, children and the most vulnerable groups.
Displacement from villages of confrontation
The villages of the Bani Omar region, west of Taiz Governorate, witnessed a new wave of displacement as a result of the escalation of confrontations and the Houthi group’s attempt to advance west towards the Al-Wazi’iyah District, after its advance through the Al-Kadha region faltered.
Residents told Asharq Al-Awsat that dozens of families fled the areas and villages of Al-Harif, Bani Ali, Al-Nawab and Al-Qalaa, which are adjacent to the Al-Wazi’iyah areas, in search of safer places.
Families left their homes, driving what was left of their livestock and carrying some of their luggage and palm-leaf mattresses, leaving behind homes and possessions for which leaving was not an option.
Displaced families are heading towards areas in the Al-Shamaytain District, on a journey carrying with them only what they were able to save, to escape the danger of confrontations and the widening escalation in villages and areas close to the battle lines.
In the Hays District, south of Hodeidah Governorate, relief sources confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that hundreds of families left the areas of confrontation in search of safety and headed towards the city of Mokha.
There, families sleep on the ground, while children face the harsh conditions and nature, and mothers try to provide the simplest necessities of life in an environment that lacks shelter and basic services.
The sources confirmed that the displaced families carried with them only a few blankets, clothes, cooking utensils, and some necessary needs, and some of them were forced to turn trees into temporary shelter, and the barren land into a place to sleep and live, waiting to find a safer and more stable place.
Under these circumstances, providing shelter, food, water, and basic needs has become an urgent necessity to alleviate the suffering of families who have found themselves forced to flee again in search of safety.
The battles on the Yemeni west coast and west of Taiz entered a new phase on Thursday, with government forces rearranging their deployment south of the city of Mokha, and forming an alternative command center in the Dhubab district towards Bab al-Mandab, after breakthroughs made by the Houthi group in a number of fighting axes during the past hours.
The move came after days of violent battles on the West Coast fronts, during which the Houthi forces were able to advance in Al-Waziyah and Mawza and control important sites and camps, coinciding with the withdrawal of government forces from sites in Hays and Al-Khawkhah, while the group continued to send large human reinforcements to the front lines, benefiting from its extensive use of missiles, drones and heavy weapons.
Vice Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Command Council, Commander of the National Resistance, Lieutenant General Tariq Saleh, directed the armed forces on the West Coast to rearrange their ranks, in a move that government forces said aimed to regroup units, strengthen command and control, and prepare for the next phase of the confrontation.
Tariq Saleh said, according to the military media of the National Resistance, that the armed forces on the West Coast, which includes the National Resistance, the Giants Brigades, and the National Shield, along with the Taiz Axis units west of the governorate, “paid a great price, martyrs and wounded, over the past days as they faced the Houthi attack.”
He added that the forces faced an attack “planned by Iran, supported by it, and in which its various tools participated,” pointing to the command’s directive “to form an alternative command center in a safe place to reassemble the forces in consultation with the leadership of the Arab coalition and the leadership council.”
South Mokha Command Center
The military media of the National Resistance announced the formation of a new command center in the Dhubab area, south of Mokha, in the direction of Bab al-Mandab, after the battles moved in recent hours to locations closer to the city of Mokha.
On Wednesday, the Houthi forces took control of Al-Waziyah, southwest of Taiz, and Mawza, east of Al-Mokha, in addition to the Khalid bin Al-Walid camp located within the scope of the Mawza District, following violent battles with government forces.
The forces affiliated with the National Resistance and other formations also withdrew from sites in the Hais District, north of Mokha, and from Al-Khawkhah, located south of Hais, while the Houthi forces continued to advance through the northern and eastern axes leading to Mokha.
Military media sources reported that the Houthis stormed several areas within the Al Mokha District, and took control of Jabal al-Nar camp, which housed the headquarters of the military forces on the west coast, while Zuqar Island was bombed with two ballistic missiles, in the context of an escalation that included large areas of the coast and the Red Sea.
In parallel, air strikes targeted Houthi sites in Al-Tuhayta, Al-Saleef, and Kamaran Island in Hodeidah Governorate, at a time when air operations continue to weaken the group’s firepower and cut off its supply lines.
The developments come a week after a massive Houthi attack that began on the axes of western Taiz and southern Hodeidah, during which the group was able to mobilize large numbers of fighters and open more than one axis at a time, with extensive use of missiles, drones, and artillery shelling to cover its ground movements.
Despite the large human losses incurred by the Houthi forces during the past days, the group continued to send new reinforcements to the fronts, in an attempt to benefit from simultaneous pressure on more than one axis, confuse government forces, and exhaust their reserves.
Battle of Taiz and Mokha
The Houthi advance in Al-Waziyah and Mawza is of particular importance to the battle around Mokha. The continued progress from these axes opens the way for pressure on the roads linking Taiz to the western coast, and places government forces before the need to reorganize their defensive lines before the fighting moves to the city’s vicinity.
In Taiz, a member of the Presidential Command Council, Lieutenant General Mahmoud Al-Subaihi, inspected the Jabal Habashi and Al-Kadha fronts, and met with officers and soldiers on the front lines, stressing that the political and military leadership stands with the forces stationed in the face of the Houthi attack.
Al-Subaihi stressed strengthening the fronts, raising the level of military and operational coordination, and taking various possibilities into account when planning operations, in addition to providing the forces with human and logistical capabilities and maintaining the highest levels of readiness and vigilance.
Al-Subaihi was accompanied on his tour by the Governor of Taiz, Nabil Shamsan, a member of the Supreme Military Committee, Major General Youssef Al-Sharaji, the commander of the Taiz axis, Major General Khaled Fadel, and the commander of the Tur Al-Baha axis, Major General Abu Bakr Al-Jabouli. The visit included the cities of Taiz and Al-Turbah, in addition to inspecting the conditions of the forces, citizens, and displaced people.
Al-Subaihi listened to a presentation on field developments and mechanisms for enhancing coordination between the National Resistance and the Taiz axis, while Governor Shamsan said that the Houthis’ focus on Taiz is linked, according to his assessment, to seeking to reach Bab al-Mandab and threatening international navigation.
Shamsan said that the governorate is “ready for a general mobilization and to supply the fronts with thousands of fighters,” referring to the readiness of local forces to strengthen the front lines as Houthi pressure continues.
The redeployment of government forces south of Mokha poses a decisive test in the coming hours. The repositioning could allow the establishment of more cohesive defense lines around Mokha and Bab al-Mandab, especially if it is accompanied by regrouping units and cutting off Houthi supply routes.
On the other hand, the Houthi forces’ push over wider distances may put their advanced units in front of longer supply lines and are more vulnerable to air targeting and ambushes, which may give government forces an opportunity to regain the initiative and launch a counterattack after establishing their new positions.
