More than 900 families displaced as fighting intensifies in Yemen’s Taiz

TAIZ, Sep 5: More than 900 families have been displaced in just two days as fighting between Yemeni government forces and the Houthis intensified in Taiz province, local authorities said on Friday.

Preliminary figures from the Taiz office of Yemen’s Planning and International Cooperation Ministry showed that 917 families fled their homes on Thursday and Friday amid renewed clashes in Maqbanah district and nearby areas, including Jabal Habashi.

Authorities said residential communities and displacement camps came under attack, forcing families to flee with little warning and leaving many without basic belongings and necessities. Displaced families from areas including Ozul Al-Yaman, Al-Abdalah and Al-Ashmalah, as well as Al-Jubb, Al-Rahbah and Al-Rajhi camps, moved toward safer areas in Jabal Habashi and Al-Ma’afer districts.

The authorities warned that the displacement figure could rise if the fighting continues and appealed for urgent humanitarian assistance, including shelter, food, drinking water and sanitation services.

Heavy clashes have been reported since early Thursday across several fronts in Taiz and neighboring Hodeidah province, near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait. Local media, citing military sources, reported dozens of government troops and Houthi fighters killed or wounded, while civilians have also reportedly been killed and injured. No consolidated official casualty toll has been released.

The latest escalation follows a series of clashes that began in July, ending a period of relative calm that had largely held along Yemen’s front lines since a UN-brokered truce in April 2022.

The Houthis have controlled the capital, Sanaa, and several other areas since 2014, while Yemen’s internationally recognized government and allied forces control large parts of the country.