Taiz Siege: Houthi Advance Starves Yemen's Third City of Water
Families in Taiz are stretching 10 liters of water over four days as Houthi forces tighten their grip on the city's supply lines.
By Elijah Fitzgerald ·
In the city of Taiz, a family of three once used 10 liters of bottled water daily for drinking and cooking. Today, Hadil al-Shahid and her two children stretch that same volume to last four days. The sharp contraction in supply reflects a broader tightening of the Houthi siege, which has cut off access to wells and blocked water trucks from entering the country's third-largest city.
The squeeze on resources has driven up costs and strained household budgets. Bottled water prices have jumped by as much as 75 percent in recent weeks. Some residents are now purchasing water on credit to keep their families hydrated. Al-Shahid, who owns a hair salon, closed her business because customers prioritized food and water over services. Her children now eat mostly rice, bread, and cheese.
The water shortage is compounding other logistical failures. Fuel scarcity has reduced the capacity of desalination plants and made it difficult to run hospitals and sanitation services. Truckers who still make the dangerous journey into the city have tripled their rates. The combined effect has pushed the population of more than 1 million residents to the edge, according to humanitarian organizations.
The crisis has intensified since the Houthis captured the port city of Mokha last month. That move gave them control over roughly 80 percent of the surrounding countryside and several neighborhoods inside Taiz. The United Nations reports that Taiz province has absorbed an estimated 124,000 displaced people since August. Many of these newcomers live in tents or makeshift shelters and survive on one meal a day.
The conflict has deepened the humanitarian impact of the ongoing civil war. Government forces still hold the city center, but they face resistance in the surrounding hills. Analysts note that controlling Taiz is a strategic objective for the Houthis if they wish to move south toward Aden. Hani Bafaqih of the aid group CARE noted that cooking gas prices have more than quadrupled, forcing some families to burn wood or charcoal for heat.
Daily life in Taiz remains precarious amidst the fighting. Ahmed Abdel Gaber, who shelters in a ruined building with nine relatives, hears explosions daily from combat located about 5 kilometers away. Earlier this week, Houthi missiles struck a residential area, killing two teenage girls. Al-Shahid says staying in their home is inevitable, whether it becomes a matter of life or death.
