More than 250,000 displaced in Yemen since fighting escalated: UNHCR

UNICEF says escalating fighting in Taiz is threatening its water systems, serving an estimated three million people.

People wait outside a gas station to fill up cooking gas cylinders in the southwestern city of Taiz, Yemen [File: Anees Mahyoub/Reuters]

More than 250,000 people have been internally displaced in Yemen since the country’s war reignited in July, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has said, as fighting between Houthi rebels and forces loyal to the internationally recognised government rages across several fronts.

The city of Taiz in southwestern Yemen is at the centre of the displacement crisis, accounting for 76 percent of departures and hosting 52 percent of those newly displaced, UNHCR said in a statement on Tuesday.

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Lahij in southwestern Yemen hosts 23 percent of the newly displaced population, followed by Aden in the south with 13 percent, UNHCR said.

“Shelling intensified in Taiz, including in residential areas and around health facilities, while insecurity and restrictions along key routes continue to constrain humanitarian access and movement,” the agency said in a statement.

The Houthis, an armed group also known as Ansar Allah (Arabic for Supporters of God), have encircled Taiz since early October, blocking the road that links it to Aden, the interim capital of the Saudi-backed internationally recognised government.

“The most immediate needs that we’ve been able to identify are around shelter, food, and multi-purpose cash assistance,” UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh told a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

The agency said about 33,700 families still require shelter assistance amid severe underfunding of the humanitarian response to the war.

Separately, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement that escalating fighting and fuel shortages in Taiz are threatening its water systems that serve an estimated three million people, including at least 1.6 million children.

“Already one of Yemen’s most water-scarce areas, Taiz is now facing renewed pressure on its most essential services for thousands of displaced families,” said Akhil Iyer, UNICEF’s Yemen representative, at a press briefing in Geneva.

The warnings come as fighting intensifies between Saudi-backed government forces and the Iran-aligned Houthis.

The death toll from a Houthi ballistic missile strike on a military training camp in Yemen’s Shabwa governorate increased to at least 58, local authorities said.

The Yemeni government described the site as a security training centre away from the front lines, while Houthi forces said they targeted Saudi-backed forces. Hospitals faced blood shortages in Ataq as medical teams responded to casualties and families searched for missing relatives.

The attack was followed by retaliatory strikes by government forces near Taiz, raising further concerns over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

Reporting from the capital, Sanaa, Al Jazeera’s Yousef Mawry said, “The Houthis are not backing down. Their military spokesman says they are continuing to conduct more missile attacks deep inside Saudi Arabia.”

“As cross-border attacks grow, Yemenis fear the war is coming closer to home, especially as both sides threaten to escalate their attacks, while Saudi Arabia steps up its air campaign,” Mawry added.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s Saudi-backed coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said on Tuesday that its forces have destroyed 127 Houthi weapons depots and missile launch platforms.

Separately, the United Kingdom said it would deploy Royal Air Force jets ⁠on defensive missions to help protect Saudi Arabia from increasing Houthi ⁠attacks.

The British Ministry of Defence said in a statement that the Typhoon warplanes would operate in a “defensive role” and not carry out attacks against the Houthis.

Tensions have soared in Yemen since July, when the Houthis announced a blockade of Saudi ports, and fighting escalated sharply last month when they seized strategic territory from forces loyal to the government along the Red Sea coast.

Government forces, backed by Saudi Arabia, responded to the losses with a counteroffensive and launched Operation Dawn of Yemen, which aims to recapture Houthi-held territory, including Sanaa, seized by the group in 2014.

联合国儿童基金会表示，塔伊兹不断升级的战斗正在威胁当地的供水系统，该系统为大约 300 万人提供服务。

在也门西南部城市塔伊兹，人们在加油站外排队等待灌装煤气罐。[图片：Anees Mahyoub/路透社]

联合国难民署（UNHCR）表示，自也门7月内战重燃以来，已有超过25万人流离失所，胡塞武装与效忠于国际公认政府的部队之间的战斗在多个战线上激烈进行。

联合国难民署周二发表声明称，也门西南部的塔伊兹市是流离失所危机的中心，占流离失所者总数的 76%，并收容了 52% 的新流离失所者。

海湾合作委员会谴责胡塞武装袭击沙特阿拉伯，也门战事升级（共4条，第1条）

也门战争再度爆发，沙特城市遭到袭击，伊朗对胡塞武装的支持受到调查（共4条，此为第2条）。

据报道，胡塞武装袭击也门沙布瓦省一处政府军营地，造成至少53人死亡（共4起袭击事件中的第3起）。

美国放弃以石油换取安全的策略，而非中东策略，这是美国放弃该策略的四个原因之一：特使汤姆·巴拉克

联合国难民署表示，也门西南部的拉希季收容了 23% 的新流离失所人口，其次是南部的亚丁，占 13%。

该机构在一份声明中表示：“塔伊兹的炮击愈演愈烈，包括居民区和医疗设施周围，而主要道路沿线的不安全局势和限制措施继续制约人道主义援助的进入和流动。”

胡塞武装（又称安萨尔真主，阿拉伯语意为“真主的支持者”）自 10 月初以来一直包围着塔伊兹，封锁了连接塔伊兹和亚丁（沙特支持的、国际公认的政府的临时首都）的道路。

联合国难民署发言人马修·索尔特马什在瑞士日内瓦举行的新闻发布会上表示：“我们目前能够确定的最迫切的需求是住所、食物和多用途现金援助。”

该机构表示，由于应对战争的人道主义援助资金严重不足，仍有约 33700 个家庭需要住所援助。

另外，联合国儿童基金会（儿基会）在一份声明中表示，塔伊兹不断升级的战斗和燃料短缺正在威胁其供水系统，该系统为大约 300 万人提供服务，其中包括至少 160 万儿童。

“塔伊兹原本就是也门最缺水的地区之一，现在又面临着数千个流离失所家庭最基本服务方面的新压力，”联合国儿童基金会驻也门代表阿基尔·艾耶尔在日内瓦举行的新闻发布会上说。

警告发出之际，沙特支持的政府军与伊朗支持的胡塞武装之间的战斗正在加剧。

也门沙布瓦省一处军事训练营遭到胡塞武装弹道导弹袭击，当地政府称，死亡人数已上升至至少58人。

也门政府称该地点是远离前线的安全训练中心，而胡塞武装则表示他们的目标是沙特支持的部队。在阿塔克，由于医疗队忙于救治伤员，家属们四处寻找失踪的亲人，医院面临血液短缺的问题。

袭击发生后，政府军在塔伊兹附近发动了报复性打击，这进一步引发了人们对也门人道主义危机恶化的担忧。

半岛电视台记者优素福·马乌里从首都萨那报道称：“胡塞武装没有退缩。他们的军事发言人表示，他们将继续向沙特阿拉伯境内纵深地带发动更多导弹袭击。”

“随着跨境袭击事件的增加，也门人担心战争正在逼近家园，尤其是双方都威胁要升级袭击，而沙特阿拉伯也加大了空袭力度，”马乌里补充道。

与此同时，也门沙特支持的联军发言人图尔基·马利基周二表示，联军部队已摧毁了127个胡塞武装武器库和导弹发射平台。

此外，英国表示将部署皇家空军战机执行防御任务，以帮助沙特阿拉伯抵御胡塞武装日益增多的袭击。

英国国防部在一份声明中表示，台风战斗机将执行“防御性任务”，不会对胡塞武装发动攻击。

自 7 月胡塞武装宣布封锁沙特港口以来，也门局势急剧紧张；上个月，胡塞武装从效忠政府的部队手中夺取了红海沿岸的战略要地，战斗急剧升级。

在沙特阿拉伯的支持下，政府军对损失做出回应，发动反攻，并启动了“也门黎明行动”，旨在夺回胡塞武装控制的领土，包括该组织于 2014 年占领的萨那。