Officially, Houthi Militia refuses to end siege of Taiz.. What about the Humanitarian Situation in the City?

In an intransigent stance that could exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in the south-western Yemeni city of Taiz, the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist militia has rejected a proposal by UN envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg to lift the siege on the city and open its crossings and other roads.

The refusal of the Houthi terrorist militia to lift the siege on Taiz could affect the already fragile truce, News Yemen reported. Nabil Jamel, a member of the government negotiating delegation, said the Houthi militia officially rejected Grundberg’s proposal to open roads in Taiz and insisted on secondary and dirt roads.

This position “is a flagrant challenge to UN efforts to achieve comprehensive peace in Yemen”, he said, adding that the Houthi militia “has sent the ball back to the UN envoy’s court, and he has to announce to the world that it is impeding the opening of roads in Taiz”.

During the eight years of siege by the Houthi terrorist militia, Yemenis, vehicles and trucks loaded with goods are moving very carefully and slowly across a rugged, unpaved mountain road to get out of the Houthi-besieged city of Taiz in southwestern Yemen.

The Houthi terrorist militia’s obstinacy in ending the humanitarian crisis in Taiz threatens to return to square one, News Yemen quoted an informed source as saying: “The Houthis’ response to the envoy’s proposal was negative, and it brought the talks back to square one.”

He explained that the government team affiliated to the legitimacy received late in the evening the day before yesterday a letter from the UN envoy informing them of the response of the Houthis on the issue of opening the crossings.

The Houthi response includes an explicit refusal to open the main roads in Taiz, and a resubmission of the militia’s proposal to open mountain feeder roads within army positions in Taiz to use these as a supply artery for their forces at the seam lines.

At the end of May, the Euro-Mediterranean Observatory for Human Rights called on parties to the conflict in Yemen to work urgently to end the siege of Taiz city and take all possible steps to alleviate the suffering of the millions living there, ReliefWeb reported.

The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory stressed that the difficult humanitarian conditions in Taiz require that priority be given to lifting the siege during the ongoing talks, especially in light of the continuation of the truce and the implementation of some of its articles, such as the cessation of military operations and the first commercial flight from Sanaa International Airport in six years.

At the beginning of April 2022, the United Nations announced a truce agreement for a period of two months, renewable, between the legitimate government and the Houthi militias supported by Iran. The truce includes two commercial flights via Sana’a International Airport every week, allowing the entry of oil derivative ships to the port of Hodeidah, and opening the blockaded roads of Taiz and the rest of the governorates.

A few hours before the end of the ceasefire, the UN announced earlier this month that both sides in Yemen’s conflict had agreed to extend the truce for two more months, but Houthi abuses continue.