More than 900 families displaced in 2 days as fighting intensifies in Yemen’s Taiz

Mohammed Sameai and Mohammad Sio

More than 900 families have been displaced in two days as fighting between Yemeni government forces and the Houthis intensified in the western province of Taiz, local authorities said Friday.

Preliminary figures show that 917 families fled their homes Thursday and Friday amid renewed fighting in Maqbanah district and nearby areas, particularly Jabal Habashi, according to the Taiz office of Yemen’s Planning and International Cooperation Ministry.

The office said the escalation had forced residents to evacuate several communities and displacement camps, while residential areas and sites sheltering displaced people had also come under attack.

Families fled parts of Maqbanah, including Ozul Al-Yaman, Al-Abdalah and Al-Ashmalah, as well as Al-Jubb camp. Others were displaced from Al-Rahbah and Al-Rajhi camps in Jabal Habashi.

They moved to safer areas, including parts of Jabal Habashi and Al-Ma’afer districts, the statement said.

Authorities warned that the displacement figure was likely to rise if the fighting continued.

The ministry office said many families had fled with little warning, leaving behind belongings and basic necessities, and were now facing “extremely difficult” humanitarian conditions.

It appealed to local and international relief organizations for emergency shelter, food, drinking water and sanitation services, calling for an “urgent, multisectoral humanitarian intervention” before the crisis expands further.

The displacement comes amid heavy clashes since early Thursday on several fronts in Taiz and neighboring Hodeidah province, near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Local media, citing military sources, have reported dozens of government troops and Houthi fighters killed or wounded since the fighting intensified.

Civilians have also been killed and wounded in shelling, but no consolidated official casualty toll has been announced as clashes continue.

The latest violence is part of a series of exchanges that began in July and ended a period of relative calm that had largely prevailed along Yemen’s front lines since a UN-brokered truce in April 2022.

The Houthis have controlled the capital Sanaa and several other cities since September 2014, while the internationally recognized government and allied forces control large areas of southern, eastern and western Yemen.