Aden Braces for Renewed Conflict as Yemenis Stockpile Supplies Amidst Missile Strikes

For Mohammed Abdul Malik, the recent explosions in Yemen’s southern city of Aden serve as a stark premonition of escalating conflict. The Houthi group has claimed responsibility for attacks targeting key locations in Aden, including the international airport, military bases, the city’s port, and the presidential palace, which currently houses the Yemeni government. In anticipation of potential widespread violence, Abdul Malik has begun taking proactive measures, stocking up on essential food items and preparing his vehicle for an emergency departure.

"We have started buying and stockpiling basic provisions, like sugar and other staples," Abdul Malik shared with Al Jazeera. His contingency plan, or 'Plan B,' involves evacuating his family to Shabwa or Hadramout, located to the northeast and east of Aden, respectively, should the security situation deteriorate and state institutions falter.

"We’ve mapped out an exit route from the city. I’ve prepared my car, checked it over, and set aside an emergency supply of fuel. I’m ready to pack up my family and head out at a moment’s notice," he stated.

After a period of relative peace lasting four years, Yemen has experienced a resurgence of conflict in recent months. This intensified in early September when the Houthis launched a significant offensive to capture government-controlled areas in western Yemen from the Saudi-backed National Resistance Forces (NRF). Within a week, the Iran-backed Ansar Allah group, also known as the Houthis, had secured districts in Hodeidah and Taiz provinces, including the port city of Mocha and the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait.

While a government counteroffensive initiated in early October has yielded limited progress along the Red Sea coast, the Houthis have concurrently intensified their blockade of Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, after capturing a crucial road connecting it to Aden. Aden, which had largely remained peaceful and served as a sanctuary for thousands displaced by the conflict, has had its tranquility shattered by the recent wave of Houthi missile and drone attacks, fueling concerns about the group's intentions to seize the city.

Accounts from individuals who fled Taiz, where escalating conflict and the siege have driven up prices and disrupted supply chains, have amplified Abdul Malik's worries about Aden's future. "Prices in Taiz have already doubled, and the same could easily happen in Aden. If the [Aden] port were to be struck, prices would skyrocket," he observed. "At work, my colleagues and I talk about what we should buy, what food we ought to store, what our contingency plan is, and where we would go if we had to leave," he added.

Abdul Malik detailed how the Houthi attacks have disrupted daily life in Aden, with some families curtailing their movements, particularly after dark. "When the [first missile] explosion occurred, one of my colleagues went to the school to pick up her son and found the students frightened and gathered together in one place. We go to work and take our children to school, but there is a sense of anxiety and tension," he recounted.

Aden International Airport, currently the busiest in Yemen, has been a primary target of Houthi missile and drone strikes. These attacks have repeatedly disrupted air travel, leading to flight cancellations, delays, and diversions to other airports within Yemen or internationally. For residents living in proximity to the airport, the recurrent strikes and explosions have inflicted a psychological burden, prompting some to consider relocating to safer areas within and beyond Aden.

Ahmed Awadh, a resident of Aden’s Khor Maksar district, near the airport, noted that the attacks have instilled fear and anxiety in children. "An explosion jolts the children awake in terror, leaving them unable to sleep for the rest of the night. Even the sound of an ordinary airplane now strikes fear into my family," Awadh told Al Jazeera. He further explained that the attacks have disrupted educational institutions and businesses, causing families to rush home and some parents to keep their children home from school. Some families have relocated vulnerable members, including children and the elderly, to neighboring Lahj and Abyan provinces or other districts within Aden, while others have rented accommodations farther from the airport.

Awadh, who resides with ten other family members, described their precautionary measures, which include keeping children away from windows during attacks. He and his neighbors have established a WhatsApp group to monitor each other's well-being following each explosion. "The [Aden] airport, which serves the civilian population, as well as other civilian infrastructure and residential areas, must not be targeted," Awadh asserted.

Aden, Yemen's second most significant city after the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa, endured substantial devastation in early 2015 amidst intense fighting between the Houthis and opposing forces, alongside air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition. Even after the Houthis were expelled, the city continued to experience sporadic clashes between rival anti-Houthi factions, occasionally resulting in infighting.

Adeeb al-Shatri, a journalism professor at Aden and Hadramout universities, commented that the latest series of Houthi missile attacks has exacerbated the hardships of a city already grappling with lawlessness and insecurity. He questioned the Yemeni internationally recognized government's decision to leave Aden, its interim capital and seat of government, exposed to Houthi attacks without adequate air defense systems to intercept missiles and drones.

"Aden is currently the capital, housing both major and minor state institutions. Therefore, the legitimate government must protect it," al-Shatri stated. The Yemeni military has reported possessing air defense capabilities in Aden, with previous accounts of drone interceptions before reaching civilian areas. Yemen’s Information Minister, Moammar al-Eryani, did not respond to Al Jazeera's request for comment regarding criticisms of inadequate air defense systems in protecting Aden.

Al-Shatri argued that only a fraction of Aden's affluent residents could afford to stockpile food and essential supplies in preparation for emergencies, while the majority of the population struggles to provide for their families. "In Europe and other stable Arab countries, people stockpile food during crises, but in Aden, people need three times their current salaries just to live a simple life," he observed.

Furthermore, al-Shatri challenged the assertion that Houthi attacks had completely halted business and educational activities in Aden. "People’s movement in the city returned to normal just an hour after the explosion because they have to keep moving to earn money and secure their daily bread," he explained. "If work were to stop, it would lead to a financial crisis, and they would be unable to provide food for themselves."