Taiz Families Cut Water to a Few Sips as Siege Blocks Wells and Fuel

Water is running out in Taiz.

Aid groups say access to wells in Yemen's third-largest city is restricted, desalination plants lack fuel, and water trucks are largely barred from entering. Humanitarian organizations say the needs of Taiz's more than 1 million residents are barely being met as Houthi rebels tighten their siege amid fighting with government forces.

Hadil al-Shahid and her two children used to go through about 10 liters of bottled water a day for drinking and cooking. They now stretch that same volume across four days. "We stopped drinking coffee and tea, which we used to drink daily," she said by phone. Bottled water costs up to 75% more than a few weeks ago, and some households buy it on credit.

The blockade reaches beyond drinking water. Fuel shortages have pushed cooking gas prices more than quadrupling, according to Hani Bafaqih of CARE, and some families burn wood, charcoal or cardboard for heat. Waste collection has shut down and community kitchens have stalled. Flour and rice cost about 50% more than they did in the summer. Amnesty International has called on the Houthis to open roads into Taiz immediately, warning the city is on "the brink of a severe humanitarian disaster."

Yemen's civil war began in 2014, when the Houthis seized much of the north, including Sanaa, and pushed the internationally recognized government into exile. Taiz has been contested since. Damage to old water infrastructure, population growth and recurring droughts had already drawn down groundwater before the siege. Taiz province has taken in an estimated 124,000 displaced people since August, roughly half of those uprooted elsewhere in Yemen, according to UN migration experts. Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for a UN emergency aid division, said some displaced families live in tents or makeshift shelters and eat one meal a day. He warned that shortages raise the risk of disease, including cholera, as families turn to unprotected wells.

Houthi forces stepped up their advance on Taiz last month after taking Mokha, a port about 130 kilometers away that is used to control Red Sea shipping. As rebels seized roads and territory around the city, residents lost access to nearby wells. Truckers who still make the trip have in some cases tripled their rates. Ahmed Abdel Gaber, who shelters in a ruined building with nine relatives, said his hauling work is no longer steady. "We heavily rely on assistance and donations from people to get food," he said. Al-Shahid, who owns a hair salon, closed it when customers put food and water first. Her 10-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son eat mostly rice, bread and cheese. Houthi missiles struck a residential area in Taiz earlier this week, killing two teenage girls. Ahmed Nagi of the International Crisis Group said any attempt to seize parts of the city would likely mean "a prolonged and costly battle." Three Houthi officials, speaking anonymously, said the group controls about 80% of the surrounding countryside and several neighborhoods inside the city, a claim The Associated Press could not verify. Al-Shahid said she cannot afford to leave: "Staying in our home is inevitable," she said, "whether it be a matter of life or death."