Taiz Reports Thousands of Illness Cases as Fighting Displaces More Families
(MENAFN) Authorities in Yemen’s southwestern Taiz province recorded 5,025 illness cases during October amid worsening sanitation conditions and continued fighting that has forced thousands of families to flee their homes.
The province’s Office for Siege Affairs said the reported cases included infectious diseases, respiratory conditions and fevers, which it linked to mounting waste across Taiz city. Garbage has accumulated in streets, residential neighborhoods and drainage channels, creating additional public health concerns.
Ailan Abdel Haq, the deputy governor responsible for health affairs, accused the Houthi group on Tuesday of preventing waste collection trucks from reaching a temporary landfill west of the city. He said the vehicles had been turned back before they could unload their waste.
Taiz has been unable to use its main landfill for more than 11 years. Abdel Haq called on UN agencies to intervene to facilitate the movement of waste trucks and secure the reopening of the primary disposal site.
Meanwhile, Governor Nabil Shamsan said another wave of displacement had brought the total number of families seeking refuge in Taiz city to 39,400. He warned that the growing population was placing further pressure on public services already struggling to meet residents’ needs.
The humanitarian situation has also been aggravated by civilian casualties. The Office for Siege Affairs reported that a shell fired by Houthi forces struck a house in Al-Athawir village in the Hayfan district, killing three girls aged 3, 7 and 12, along with a 35-year-old woman. Four other civilians were wounded. The Houthis had not immediately commented on the incident.
Ayman al-Kamali, director of the independent Taiz Human Rights Center, said more than 50 civilians had been killed and dozens injured across the province during the previous four weeks. He attributed the casualties to artillery shelling, sniper fire and landmine explosions.
Control of the province remains divided, with government forces holding Taiz city while the Houthis control surrounding areas. Yemeni human rights organizations and aid groups have accused the Houthis of maintaining a siege on the city and obstructing humanitarian convoys, allegations the group has denied.
Fighting between government forces and the Houthis intensified again in July, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries and displacing more than a quarter of a million people, according to UN reports.
The renewed confrontation ended a period of relative calm that had continued since April 2022, further deepening Yemen’s humanitarian emergency as violence and displacement persist.
Yemen’s civil war began in September 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and several provinces. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.
The province’s Office for Siege Affairs said the reported cases included infectious diseases, respiratory conditions and fevers, which it linked to mounting waste across Taiz city. Garbage has accumulated in streets, residential neighborhoods and drainage channels, creating additional public health concerns.
Ailan Abdel Haq, the deputy governor responsible for health affairs, accused the Houthi group on Tuesday of preventing waste collection trucks from reaching a temporary landfill west of the city. He said the vehicles had been turned back before they could unload their waste.
Taiz has been unable to use its main landfill for more than 11 years. Abdel Haq called on UN agencies to intervene to facilitate the movement of waste trucks and secure the reopening of the primary disposal site.
Meanwhile, Governor Nabil Shamsan said another wave of displacement had brought the total number of families seeking refuge in Taiz city to 39,400. He warned that the growing population was placing further pressure on public services already struggling to meet residents’ needs.
The humanitarian situation has also been aggravated by civilian casualties. The Office for Siege Affairs reported that a shell fired by Houthi forces struck a house in Al-Athawir village in the Hayfan district, killing three girls aged 3, 7 and 12, along with a 35-year-old woman. Four other civilians were wounded. The Houthis had not immediately commented on the incident.
Ayman al-Kamali, director of the independent Taiz Human Rights Center, said more than 50 civilians had been killed and dozens injured across the province during the previous four weeks. He attributed the casualties to artillery shelling, sniper fire and landmine explosions.
Control of the province remains divided, with government forces holding Taiz city while the Houthis control surrounding areas. Yemeni human rights organizations and aid groups have accused the Houthis of maintaining a siege on the city and obstructing humanitarian convoys, allegations the group has denied.
Fighting between government forces and the Houthis intensified again in July, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries and displacing more than a quarter of a million people, according to UN reports.
The renewed confrontation ended a period of relative calm that had continued since April 2022, further deepening Yemen’s humanitarian emergency as violence and displacement persist.
Yemen’s civil war began in September 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and several provinces. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.
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