Taiz Siege Resumes: Nearly 3 Million Civilians Trapped Without Food and Fuel

Taiz is once again under siege. According to Al Jazeera reports, Yemen's Houthi forces seized the town of al-Turbah in southern Taiz Governorate on October 4, cutting off the last main road between this major southwestern city and government-controlled areas, thereby launching a new full-scale siege.

The report noted that within less than a week of the renewed siege, the black-market price of 20 liters of gasoline has soared from 30,000 Yemeni riyals (about US$19) to 90,000 Yemeni riyals (about US$58), and streets in the city have become nearly empty due to fuel shortages. Panic buying has hit food markets, with wheat and flour prices rising noticeably and vegetable and fruit prices doubling.

Nabil Jamil, director of the Taiz Governorate's Planning and Development Office, told Al Jazeera that the new siege "is more comprehensive and more severe than the one in 2015": "This siege has not only blocked the main roads leading into the governorate but has also cut off most of the secondary roads connecting the rural areas." He explained that the areas under the Taiz governorate's control are home to approximately 2.8 million people, with another roughly 200,000 displaced by recent fighting along the coast and in the countryside — "all of them will face a humanitarian crisis and deteriorating living conditions as a result of this siege."

In early September, Houthi forces launched an offensive along the Red Sea coast of Taiz Governorate, successively seizing the port of Mocha and the Dhubab district overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Saudi-backed government forces mounted a counteroffensive in early October, retaking some lost ground, but the Houthis continued to push into the countryside around Taiz city and ultimately captured al-Turbah.

The report noted that between 2015 and 2016, Houthi forces imposed a devastating siege on Taiz, at one point compressing pro-government fighters into an enclave in the city center. At that time, local civilians relied on people and donkeys to smuggle supplies over the mountains, including oxygen cylinders for the sick and wounded. Iskandar Abdullah, 37, recalled that experience to Al Jazeera, saying: "We witnessed the horrors of the siege and endured every bitter hardship in life. I hope those painful days will not return."

After government forces recaptured the southern outskirts of Taiz city in 2016, the siege was broken. In 2024, under domestic and international pressure, the Houthis briefly reopened the transit route from eastern Taiz to Sanaa, which later became the main source of food supplies for Taiz city. But Al Jazeera, citing security sources, reported that with fighting reignited, this transit route has been closed again because of Houthi attempts to push through.

Wafiq Saleh, an economic affairs correspondent, told Al Jazeera that although some merchants still hold stocks that could last for months, transport disruptions combined with hoarding have driven up prices; some residents accuse merchants of monopolizing basic goods in the absence of market regulation.

Nabil Sharyan, head of the charitable and rights-based organization JRDO, warned Al Jazeera that the humanitarian cost of the new siege would be enormous, "especially for patients, children, women and the elderly, for whom accessing medical care and obtaining medicine will become suddenly far more difficult." He stressed: "In any conflict, civilians must never be used as a means of pressure."

Al Jazeera, citing Salman al-Maqrami, a journalist specializing in Houthi affairs, reported that one of the core objectives of the Houthis' current offensive is to shatter the unity of anti-Houthi forces inside Taiz city — a city long considered the heartland of their political and military rivals. If Taiz ultimately falls, it would carry symbolic meaning for the Houthis: even where local populations are hostile, they retain the ability to threaten any government-controlled area.

The Taiz local government has sent a letter to the United Nations seeking assistance. Jamil confirmed that the letter's requests include opening a safe passage for civilians and ensuring the delivery of medical and food supplies to Taiz. "We are still waiting for any response or on-the-ground intervention," he told Al Jazeera. The report also noted that it remains unclear whether government forces can recapture lost ground to the west of Taiz city and break the siege, or whether United Nations agencies will respond substantively to the local government's appeal for help.