The humanitarian and military repercussions of the siege imposed on the Yemeni city of Taiz (southwest) have expanded, with renewed Houthi bombing of residential areas and deaths and injuries, coinciding with warnings from human rights organizations of worsening food insecurity and the faltering access of basic supplies to a city whose residents are facing an escalating living crisis.
In the most recent attacks, 8 civilians were killed, including women and children, and 6 others were injured, according to a preliminary toll announced by the local authority, as a result of Houthi bombing that targeted the village of Al-Muqadda in the Himyar Al-Jabal area of Maqbana District, west of Taiz, while there are still victims under the rubble.
The local authority said that the bombing targeted homes and civilian objects, holding the Houthi group responsible for the casualties, and calling on the United Nations and relevant organizations to document the incident, work to protect civilians, and hold those responsible accountable.
In the southeast of the city, a human rights organization reported that a woman was killed and 5 civilians were injured, including a woman and a girl, as a result of Houthi bombing and sniping in the Sabr Al-Mawadim District. The Taiz Human Rights Center reported that a woman was killed as a result of a bombing that targeted the Al Shaqab area, while a female citizen was injured by sniper bullets in the Kahlan area, and 3 brothers were injured by fragments of a shell that fell on their house in the Aqqa neighborhood.
These incidents come at a time when warnings are increasing about the repercussions of closing roads and ports on food, medical and fuel supplies, amid fears that continued restrictions on transport movement will deepen the humanitarian crisis in the governorate.
Warnings of a food disaster
The "Rasd for Rights and Liberties" organization warned that the city of Taiz is approaching a humanitarian catastrophe, in light of the continued siege and the prevention of access to basic supplies, noting that more than 2.5 million people, including about 140,000 displaced people, are facing the repercussions of the crisis.
The organization said, in a statement on the occasion of World Food Day, that Yemen has been suffering from a prolonged food security crisis since 2014, due to conflict, deteriorating economy, displacement, rising food prices, and declining sources of income, agricultural production, and humanitarian funding.
She added that the continued closure of roads and the decline in supplies of water and oil derivatives, in conjunction with the escalation of bombing of civilian areas, exacerbates the risks facing the population, calling on the United Nations, donors and humanitarian organizations to increase funding, strengthen food and nutrition programs, and support livelihoods.
The organization called for pressure to open roads and allow humanitarian and medical aid to arrive, warning of the consequences of the continuation of the situation without urgent intervention to protect civilians and secure their basic needs.
Blocked roads disrupt supplies
In a move to confront the living repercussions, the Emergency Committee in Taiz Governorate, headed by Governor Nabil Shamsan, discussed the repercussions of the siege on the stock of food supplies, oil derivatives, household gas, and the basic needs of the population.
The meeting reviewed the ration reports and the efforts made in coordination with the government and international organizations to secure supplies, including oil derivatives allocated to the governorate and located in Lahj Governorate.
Shamsan said that the closure of roads represents the main obstacle to the flow of supplies to the city of Taiz, indicating continued communication with the International Committee of the Red Cross to facilitate their passage, and awaiting the response of the Houthis regarding opening the road and allowing the entry of supplies under the auspices of the committee.
The Emergency Committee confirmed the readiness of the local authorities to provide the necessary facilities, noting that the roads and ports under its control are open to the movement of humanitarian and commercial supplies, while the Houthi group continues to close main roads and obstruct movement, according to the committee’s statement.
The committee called for facilitating the entry of food supplies, petroleum derivatives, and household gas through official channels, and in coordination with the local authority, to limit the aggravation of the crisis.
In parallel with field and humanitarian developments, local authorities in a number of Taiz districts warned of Houthi attempts to restrict the data of officers and military personnel present in the West Coast and Al-Hujariya areas, in preparation for summoning them and attracting them to the ranks of the group.
The authorities called on military personnel affiliated with the armed and security forces, who were performing their duties in those areas, to communicate with their commanders to obtain instructions related to rearranging their status and disbursing their salaries, warning against responding to the Houthi summons.
It also called on sheikhs, notables, and leaders to reject pressures aimed at handing over military data, and to protect their local communities from the repercussions of these measures.
A missile fell inside the campus of Aden International Airport, launched by the Houthi militia, on Friday evening, while a plane carrying passengers was preparing to take off from it at the moment of the targeting, according to official sources.
The Aden Security Administration stated, in a statement, that preliminary information about this incident, which is the second in a week, indicates that no loss of life was recorded, explaining that the competent authorities are continuing to complete the necessary procedures, provided that they will provide public opinion with any additional details as soon as they are completed.
The Security Department confirmed that the repetition of these incidents inside the airport campus represents a serious threat to the safety of civilian objects and air traffic, especially in light of the presence of flights to and from several countries, and the presence of passengers in the departure and arrival halls.
The statement, published by the official agency, indicated that Aden International Airport is a vital air port for Yemenis, including patients and humanitarian cases who depend on it to travel and receive treatment abroad.
For his part, the Yemeni Minister of Information, Muammar Al-Eryani, confirmed the safety of the passengers and crew of Yemen Airways flight No. (IY 612), heading to Cairo International Airport, indicating that it was preparing to take off at the moment the militia targeted Aden Airport with two missiles that landed about 500 meters from the plane, and 100 meters from the middle of the runway.
Al-Eryani added, in a post on the “X” platform: “God’s providence prevented a horrific humanitarian catastrophe that could have claimed the lives of dozens of innocent travelers,” noting that “what happened is not just an attack on a civilian airport, but rather a direct threat to the lives of passengers and flight crews, the safety of air navigation, and a serious violation of international laws and norms.”
The Minister of Information stated that this civil airport operates dozens of flights daily, transporting patients seeking treatment, students seeking their future, expatriates returning to their families or departing to work, and thousands of Yemenis who depend on it as an essential window to communicate with the world.
Al-Eryani stressed that targeting Aden International Airport “is neither a military achievement nor a victory to be boasted of, but rather an assault on the right of Yemenis to life, movement, treatment, and education, and a direct threat to innocent lives and the safety of civil aviation.”
The minister stressed that “the state, with the support and backing of the brothers in the coalition to support legitimacy led by Saudi Arabia, will continue steadfastly to protect our people, its institutions and vital facilities, end the Houthi threat, restore the state, and establish security and stability in Yemen.”
Egypt and Sudan affirmed the “depth of fraternal relations” between them, and rejected “attempts to harm bilateral relations based on mutual respect and good neighbourliness,” following the targeting of gold and mineral prospectors near the border between the two countries, and the killing of two Egyptians in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.
During his meeting with the Sudanese Minister of Finance, Jibril Ibrahim, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Badr Abdel Ati, stressed “the constants of his country’s position in support of Sudan’s unity, territorial integrity, and the preservation of its institutions,” stressing the continuation of Egyptian efforts aimed at ending the war in Sudan.
The meeting between Abdel-Ati and Ibrahim came on Friday, on the sidelines of their participation in the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The two ministers stressed “the depth of fraternal relations and the historical ties that bring together the two countries and the two peoples.” According to a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, they stressed their “rejection of any attempt to harm these relations, which are based on mutual respect for sovereignty and borders and all considerations on which good-neighborly relations are based.”
These confirmations come after gold prospectors, known locally as “Al-Dhahaba,” were targeted near the Egyptian-Sudanese border, and users of social media platforms in Sudan circulated video scenes that they said showed Egyptian military aircraft bombing mining areas inside Sudanese territory.
The Egyptian military spokesman announced, in a statement last Monday, that “law enforcement elements from the armed forces and civil police carried out the third phase of an expanded campaign to confront illegal gold mining in the Eastern Desert.” He explained that the campaign was preceded by the throwing of warning leaflets, noting that it “aims to impose Egyptian sovereignty and protect the country’s capabilities and wealth.”
At the same time, Sudanese gunmen opened fire on a number of Egyptian truck drivers in Khartoum, killing two drivers and wounding another.
According to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry’s statement, Abdel-Ati and Ibrahim discussed the political track and developments in the situation in Sudan, and the Egyptian Minister reaffirmed his country’s position in support of the unity of Sudan, the integrity of its lands, the preservation of state institutions, and continuing efforts to end the crisis and alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people.
For his part, the former Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister, Ambassador Youssef Al-Sharqawi, considered the meeting an indication of the continuation of political communication between Cairo and Khartoum, and a renewal of the constants of the Egyptian position in support of the unity and territorial integrity of Sudan. He said that the emphasis on maintaining bilateral relations and managing them with mutual respect represents “an important message in light of the controversy accompanying the two recent incidents.”
Al-Sharqawi added, in statements to Asharq Al-Awsat, that relations between the two countries include many areas, stressing Egypt’s keenness to strengthen the capabilities of Sudanese institutions to carry out their role and support post-war reconstruction efforts. According to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry statement, the two ministers discussed ways to strengthen and develop bilateral relations in various fields, in a way that meets the aspirations of the two peoples.
In turn, the head of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Sudanese-Egyptian Friendship Association, Mohamed Jabbara, believed that the two recent incidents do not reflect the nature of the historical relations between the two countries, accusing other parties, which he did not name, of employing them to harm these relations and target the partnership between Cairo and Khartoum.
In statements to Asharq Al-Awsat, Jabbara called for strengthening relations by resorting to “reason and diplomatic wisdom” in dealing with the repercussions of the two incidents. He proposed forming a joint force on the border to confront private mining operations, in addition to activating political, economic and development cooperation paths between the two countries.
On Monday, the Transitional Sovereignty Council in Sudan announced the formation of a fact-finding committee regarding what it described as a “painful accident” to which a number of Sudanese miners were exposed in the border region between Egypt and Sudan. He explained that the committee includes representatives of the Public Prosecution and the judicial and security authorities, to investigate the circumstances of the incident and determine all the circumstances and facts related to it.
