Halo Trust Deminers Among Thousands Trapped by Houthi Siege in Taiz

Approximately 30 demining workers from the Halo Trust are among the hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped within the besieged Yemeni city of Taiz, the organization announced on Wednesday. Houthi rebels have surrounded the government-controlled city amidst ongoing conflict for control between the warring factions. The blockade has effectively severed the sole remaining route through the mountains that connects Taiz to the interim capital, Aden, according to the Halo Trust. The Taiz region is known to be heavily contaminated with landmines, the organization added. All supply lines entering and exiting the city are currently cut off. Humanitarian organizations have been raising alarms about the rapidly diminishing supplies of food, water, medicine, and fuel within the city. The Halo Trust also reported that one of its employees is stranded outside the city, unable to be reunited with her children.

“Behind this siege are real people facing impossible choices. Our staff are trapped in Taiz, separated from their families and uncertain when they’ll see their loved ones again,” stated Mara van der Kamp, the Halo Trust's Yemen programme manager. “The longer this siege continues, the greater the suffering for civilians who have nowhere safe to turn.”

On Wednesday, the Houthis claimed responsibility for a ballistic missile attack targeting a Saudi operations room in Aden, Yemen's de facto capital. Saudi Arabia has not yet confirmed the strike. Last Thursday, Houthi missiles were fired at the Presidential Palace in Aden, resulting in five fatalities. Earlier this week, on Monday, the government confirmed the deaths of at least 73 individuals when the Houthis struck a military training camp in Shabwa.

Saudi Arabia initially intervened in Yemen's civil war in 2015, supporting the government and expressing concerns about the rise of Iranian influence and potential border instability after the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa. A UN-brokered truce in 2022 maintained a fragile peace until the current year. Last month, Saudi Arabia resumed its military campaign in Yemen to support the internationally recognized government and counter the Houthis' recent advances along the Red Sea coast, reaching the crucial Bab Al Mandeb strait.

The European Union has urged the Houthis to lift the siege of Taiz, while the Yemeni government has appealed to the United Nations for urgent intervention to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. An estimated 600,000 people in Taiz rely on aid, including over 200,000 children. The UN's International Organization for Migration reported that more than 200,000 people have been displaced from their homes since the recent outbreak of fighting.