Al-Eryani: Yemenis suffer under Houthi siege in Taiz

Yemen’s Minister of Information and Culture Muammar al-Eryani has warned that the suffering of civilians in Taiz will be exacerbated by the ongoing Houthi siege of the province.

In a series of tweets, al-Eryani pointed to the hardships the siege entails in terms of moving between directorates and the entry of food and basic goods into the province via rough alternative routes, which led to a record increase in prices.

Al-Eryani said the Houthi militias’ blocking of main roads and their rejection of all proposals and initiatives to lift the siege on Taiz, including the UN envoy’s proposal, are part of a policy of collective punishment and revenge against the people of the province for their positions in support of the state and against the coup.

Al-Eryani called on the international community, the United Nations, UN envoys, and human rights organizations to condemn the Houthi siege imposed on Taiz as a war crime and a crime against humanity,.

It also demanded that firm positions be taken to compel the militias to implement their obligations under the truce Agreement and that the blockade be lifted immediately and unconditionally.

Houthi militias rejected all proposals to open roads and access to the city, which is under a suffocating siege for the eighth consecutive year, including a proposal by the UN envoy to open major roads into the city.

A UN-sponsored round of talks in mid-2010 in Jordan between the legitimate government and the Houthi coup militias to end the siege on the city of Taiz failed.