The European Union has urged the Iran-backed Houthi rebels to lift their siege of Taiz, as the Yemeni government appealed to the UN for urgent action to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.
Taiz, in south-western Yemen, is controlled by Yemeni government forces but has long been besieged by the Houthis and remains the main front line in the civil war. In recent weeks, fighting between the rebels and government forces has intensified and the rebels have encircled the area.
In a statement, the EU said the Houthis must allow food, water, medicine and fuel to enter the city. It stressed that civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected and humanitarian partners must be permitted to deliver essential aid.
On Wednesday, the Yemeni government sent a letter from Foreign Minister Afrah Al Zouba to senior UN and humanitarian officials, outlining a sharp deterioration in conditions in Taiz governorate amid a new Houthi escalation.
Ms Al Zouba warned that the tightening of the siege on Taiz and surrounding villages could trigger a humanitarian disaster affecting more than four million people. They include residents trapped inside the city and displaced families in districts such as Al Shamayatayn, Al Mawasit and Jabal Habashi.
The government urged the UN to apply direct pressure on the Houthis to lift the blockade immediately, reopen all access routes for civilians and supply chains, and ensure sustained, unhindered delivery of food, fuel and drinking water. It also called for stronger monitoring and documentation of violations to preserve evidence, hold perpetrators accountable and prevent impunity.
Humanitarian agencies have voiced concern over low food and medical supplies, as well as the capability of hospitals to cater to thousands of injured people. Wheat flour stocks in the city are nearly exhausted, the UN World Food Programme said.
The WFP said remaining food supplies may not last long if access constraints continue. At least 600,000 people in Taiz depend on aid, including more than 200,000 children.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said front-line hospitals in areas such as Marib, Taiz and Yemen's Red Sea coast are taking in unprecedented numbers of patients wounded by weapons, with some admitting more than 700 casualties in one week.
More than 200,000 people have been displaced from their homes since fighting began in recent weeks, the UN's International Organisation for Migration said.
“Trauma care staff are under enormous pressure,” said Feras Abusamra, ICRC health co-ordinator. Only a small proportion of Yemen's functioning health centres can provide comprehensive trauma care, he said, while hospitals face large numbers of wounded people and shortages of surgical supplies, anaesthesia, oxygen and medicine.
The siege of Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, has been in place since 2015 and has long been a severe humanitarian flashpoint, with aid agencies warning that shortages of basic goods and medical supplies are pushing civilians towards crisis conditions.