Taiz residents ration water to ten liters per week as siege tightens

Residents in Taiz, the third largest city in Yemen, are stretching a ten liter supply of bottled water to last four days. Aid groups report that the water crisis has reached critical levels in recent weeks as Iran backed Houthi rebels have tightened their siege on the city.

Humanitarian organizations state that the needs of Taiz's more than one million residents are barely being met. Access to local wells is restricted, desalination plants lack sufficient fuel, and water trucks are largely blocked from entering the city. Families report significant changes in daily habits to conserve the limited supply.

Hadil al-Shahid, a resident with two young children, said her family once used about ten liters of bottled water a day for drinking and cooking. She now makes that same amount last four days. Al-Shahid said she stopped drinking coffee and tea, which were previously daily staples. Bottled water prices have risen by as much as 75% in recent weeks, and some households are now buying it on credit.

The siege has also impacted food and energy supplies. Grocery shortages have driven food prices up, while scarce fuel hampers hospital operations and sanitation services. Amnesty International urged the Houthis to open roads into the city immediately, warning that Taiz is being pushed to the brink of a severe humanitarian disaster. Flour and rice costs are now about 50% higher than they were in the summer.

Taiz province has absorbed roughly half of the people displaced elsewhere in Yemen since August, an estimated 124,000 people, according to United Nations migration experts. Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for a UN emergency aid division, noted that some displaced families live in makeshift shelters and survive on one meal a day. Hani Bafaqih of the aid group CARE reported that cooking gas prices have more than quadrupled, forcing some families to burn wood, charcoal, or cardboard for heat.

Analysts say controlling Taiz is key for the Houthis if they want to push south toward Aden and Lahj. Ahmed Nagi of the International Crisis Group stated that any attempt to seize parts of the city would likely mean a prolonged and costly battle. Three Houthi officials, speaking anonymously, claimed the group controls about 80% of the surrounding countryside and several neighborhoods inside the city. Foreign Minister Afrah al-Zouba has acknowledged the rebels' tightening grip.

Civilians remain in danger amid the conflict. Houthi missiles hit a residential area earlier this week, killing two teenage girls. Ahmed Abdel Gaber, who is displaced with nine relatives, said he hears explosions daily from fighting about five kilometers away. Al-Shahid said she cannot afford to leave her home. She stated that staying is inevitable, whether it be a matter of life or death.

By August, Yemen had become a widening front in the Iran war. The Houthis stepped up their advance on Taiz last month after capturing the port city of Mokha, about 130 kilometers away. The capture of Mokha is vital for controlling Red Sea shipping. As the rebels took more land and roads around Taiz, residents lost access to nearby wells and outside deliveries fell. Truckers who still make the dangerous trip have in some cases tripled their rates, while the water utility and desalination plants operate well below capacity as fuel runs down.