Yemen sees nearly 330,000 displaced since August as Taiz hosts over 40%

The latest UN figures show that displacement in Yemen has exceeded 320,000 people since fighting intensified. The besieged Taiz governorate hosts around 140,000 of them, while humanitarian agencies warn of shortages of shelter, water and food.

The number of people internally displaced in Yemen by the military escalation since early August has risen to nearly 330,000. Taiz governorate hosts the largest number, around 140,000 people, or more than 40% of the total, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

These figures are close to those cited by Yemeni media outlets, including Al-Mashhad Al-Yemeni, from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which recorded more than 321,000 internally displaced people, with Taiz remaining the worst-affected governorate. On October 20, UNHCR said that the number of displaced people had exceeded 250,000, with Taiz accounting for 76% of displacement cases and receiving 52% of newly displaced people, followed by Lahj at 23% and Aden at 13%.

Accumulated waste in a waterway in central Taiz

Taiz under siege

OCHA said that roads leading to Taiz city from areas under government control remain cut off or closed because of fighting, limiting the delivery of lifesaving aid and commercial supplies. It added that humanitarian partners have provided 113,000 liters of drinking water daily over the past three weeks, benefiting more than 7,000 households, while waste collection has been disrupted by fuel shortages.

The United Nations says the siege imposed by the Houthis on the city cuts supplies to around 800,000 people. Akil Ayer, the UNICEF representative in Yemen, said many displaced people had fled more than once and arrived at overcrowded camps wearing “only the clothes they had on.”

The historic Cairo Castle overlooking Taiz

Shelter and food needs

UNHCR identified shelter, food and multipurpose cash assistance as the most urgent needs, noting that around 33,700 households still require shelter assistance amid a severe funding shortfall. Its spokesperson, Matthew Saltmarsh, also noted that around 65,000 refugees and asylum seekers are in Yemen, most of them from Somalia and Ethiopia, and also need support.

In Marib governorate, health-sector partners, in cooperation with local authorities, launched an emergency vaccination campaign on November 7 targeting more than 125,000 children, including children in displacement sites. This comes as fighting continues in Taiz, Lahj, Marib and Al Jawf following the launch of the government forces’ “Yemen Dawn” operation on October 5.

Photos: Anadolu, Reuters, Wikimedia Commons

Yemen sees nearly 330,000 displaced since August as Taiz hosts over 40%