Local authorities in Tur Al-Baha District in Lahj Governorate, southwest of Yemen, are moving to strengthen their humanitarian and service response, with the increasing needs of residents and displaced people as a result of the ongoing confrontations in the neighboring Al-Maqtara District, by completing the equipment of a field hospital and sending a relief aid convoy that targeted 628 affected families.
These movements gain importance in view of the geographical location of Tur Al-Baha, adjacent to the areas of confrontation, and the additional burdens that military operations impose on the population, especially families living near the lines of contact, who face difficult living conditions and many needs for health care and relief.
Government sources state that a team assigned by the Governor of Lahj, Murad Al-Halmi, inspected the progress of final work in the field hospital in the directorate, and reviewed the completed equipment, remaining works, and technical notes that require treatment, calling for redoubling efforts and accelerating the pace of implementation, while adhering to the approved engineering and technical specifications and standards.
Local authorities in the governorate say that this step is of particular importance given the geographical location of the district close to the confrontation areas in Al-Maqtara to the north, and Al-Mudaraba and Ras Al-Ara to the west, which allows the provision of medical and ambulance services closer to the population, and helps in dealing with emergency cases, as well as relieving pressure on other health facilities.
It also contributes to dealing with the cases imposed by waves of displacement on the basis of the district, one of the receiving areas for those affected by field developments.
In parallel with the movements aimed at strengthening health services, a humanitarian and relief aid convoy arrived in the district, aiming to provide support to 628 families whose living conditions were affected by the war and confrontations, through the distribution of food supplies and relief baskets to meet some of their basic needs.
The Director General of the Tur Al-Baha Directorate, Arif Nassi, said that the arrival of the aid represents an important humanitarian step that reflects concern for the affected families and standing by them in light of the exceptional circumstances that the Directorate is going through.
Nasi praised the efforts of the Emergency Committee in Lahj Governorate to conduct relief convoys and deliver aid to those who need it, stressing the importance of continuing these interventions to confront the increasing living needs of the population affected by the confrontations.
The areas adjacent to the fighting fronts in Lahj and Taiz are facing many humanitarian burdens, in light of the continuation of military operations and the risks they impose on civilians, and the repercussions on the movement of residents and their livelihoods, with the Houthis deliberately moving the confrontations to the center of population centers, in addition to the pressures on basic services, especially the health sector.
These developments come in light of the expansion of the confrontations in southwestern Yemen, where the governorates of Taiz and Lahj, whose rural areas are linked by geographical routes and overlapping population movement, are witnessing renewed rounds of fighting between government forces and the Houthi group.
The confrontations are concentrated in a number of districts and rural areas, amid attempts to control main roads and supply lines, which has made population centers close to the fighting fronts vulnerable to bombing, clashes, and the risk of displacement.
Governmental and international moves to confront the humanitarian crisis in Yemen coincided with a German call to stop Houthi attacks inside Yemen and return to the political track, at a time when waves of displacement are expanding and humanitarian needs are rising, amid warnings of worsening conditions, especially in the governorates of Taiz and Lahj.
In a move that combined humanitarian support and a political stance, Germany announced an increase in its aid to Yemen by an additional 10 million euros, bringing its total value to 38 million euros. Its ambassador to Yemen, Thomas Friedrich Schneider, warned of the tragic deterioration of the humanitarian situation, noting that the siege imposed on the city of Taiz and the ongoing attacks are exacerbating the suffering of the population and pushing more of them into displacement.
In a direct stance on the military developments, Schneider called on the Houthis to immediately stop their attacks on the population in Yemen, stressing that the political process represents the only way to achieve lasting peace in the country.
In a phone call with the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoliarić Egger, Yemeni Foreign Minister Afrah Al-Zuba discussed ways to enhance humanitarian cooperation and the repercussions of the siege imposed on Taiz 12 years ago, warning that blocking roads, obstructing the access of food and medicine, and fuel shortages threaten basic services, especially in hospitals.
It also called for facilitating the delivery of fuel and medical supplies to the city, and raised the targeting of the Al-Saqiya health center in Lahj with a ballistic missile, which resulted in deaths, including members of the medical staff. The call also addressed the conditions of United Nations employees and humanitarian workers detained by the Houthis, and the killing of a UN employee during his detention, with demands for intensifying visits to detainees, revealing the fate of those forcibly disappeared, and handing over the bodies of the deceased to their families.
For her part, the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed the continuation of its humanitarian activities and the follow-up of the file of detainees and forcibly disappeared persons.
The International Organization for Migration announced that the total number of displaced people in the country since the beginning of last August had risen to more than 320,000 people, including about 16,000 during the first week of November, in waves of displacement mainly concentrated in Taiz and Lahj. It explained, in a recent report, that the Displacement Tracking Matrix monitored the displacement of 2,655 families, including 15,930 people, during the period from 1 to 7 November. Current, bringing the total since the beginning of last August to 53,468 families, including 320,849 people.
Lahj topped the list of governorates receiving displaced persons during the week, with about 1,313 families, followed by Taiz with 716 families, then Aden with 248 families, while Taiz came at the forefront of the governorates from which the waves of displacement began, with 1,242 families, followed by Lahj with 1,142 families, and Al-Hudaydah with 167 families.
The organization added 372 families to the cumulative toll, whose displacement was monitored during the last week of last October. According to the report, the total number of displaced people from the beginning of last January until November 7 reached about 343,902 people, representing 57,317 families.
On Tuesday, the Yemeni Armed Forces continued their military operations within the “Yemen Dawn” operation on several fronts, intensifying their air strikes and drone and artillery attacks against the Houthi group’s positions, movements and reinforcements, in conjunction with achieving new field progress in Al-Jawf Governorate, and continuing confrontations in a number of axes in the Taiz, Al-Dhalea and Marib governorates.
The “Unmanned Aviation Units”, affiliated with the “First Emergency Division” in Al-Jawf Governorate, carried out targeting operations against the group’s military vehicles and gatherings on a number of fronts in the governorate.
The Armed Forces Media Center published video clips documenting some of these operations.
According to the official spokesman for the Armed Forces, Majid Al-Nuzaili, combat units from the Emergency Forces and the National Shield were able to take control of new governorate sites and heights, as part of operations aimed at expanding the scope of field progress in the governorate.
Government forces in Al-Dhalea Governorate responded to an attack launched by the Houthi group on its positions in the Hajar axis, northwest of the governorate, and engaged in confrontations with the attacking elements at the bottom of Jabal Al-Hasha.
A military source said that the forces were able to break the attack and direct strikes at the attackers, resulting in loss of life and equipment, and forcing the Houthi elements to retreat and flee.
In Marib, the artillery of the Seventh Military District targeted Houthi positions, gatherings, and vehicles on the northern front with several shells, while the “emergency forces” carried out a targeting operation against the group’s gatherings and members, which, according to military sources, resulted in the killing of 16 members and the injury of others.
On Monday, government forces announced the downing of a Houthi drone on the Baqim front in the Azal axis, north of Saada Governorate, after the forces spotted it immediately after it entered the front’s airspace, according to military sources.
On Monday, the besieged city of Taiz witnessed the failure of Houthi attacks targeting army and popular resistance positions on the Al-Aqroud and Al-Shaqab fronts, located southeast of the city.
A military source said that the group tried to advance towards army positions in the Kahlan areas on the Al-Aqroud Front and Al-Najada on the Al-Shaqab Front, before the forces were able to confront the attack and inflict losses on the attackers.
The group resumed bombing residential neighborhoods in the Salah and Asifra areas, east and north of the city, wounding a civilian and damaging homes and residential buildings.
In a total outcome of the military operations during the past hours, the official spokesman for the armed forces, Colonel Majid Al-Nuzaili, announced that the warplanes carried out 17 air strikes against Houthi sites and capabilities, while the drones carried out 123 targeting operations on the Al-Jawf, Ma’rib, Mudaraba and Southwestern Fronts.
The “launcher units” also carried out 60 operations, while field artillery targets amounted to 782 operations, targeting the group’s fortifications, artillery positions, sniper positions, and gatherings of its members and reinforcements.
Al-Nuzaili said that the strikes inflicted heavy losses on the Houthis in lives and equipment, and led to the flight of dozens of their members on the Al-Jawf, Marib and Taiz fronts.
He added that government forces, backed by the popular resistance, continue confrontations and confront Houthi attacks in Taiz, while the “Homeland Shield,” “Giants Brigades,” and “National Resistance” forces carried out attacks on the southern and southwestern fronts, during which they were able to regain ruling positions, while the confrontations continued in a number of axes.
On Monday, the armed forces announced the implementation of 982 targeting operations as part of Operation “Yemen Dawn,” which included air strikes, drone attacks, and launcher and artillery operations, and said that their toll amounted to about 127 dead and wounded among Houthi leaders and members, in addition to the escape of dozens, and the destruction and damage of about 158 combat vehicles and means.
