Siege fuels disease fears in Yemen’s Taiz

Resumen detallado

Health officials warn that falling numbers of recorded infections may conceal a worsening disease crisis in Taiz.

Taiz, Yemen – The woman held the body of a young baby girl wrapped in a white shroud.

“Our children are dying because of the siege. We have no open road, no medics and no medicines,” the woman said.

Wearing the traditional clothing of women from Jabal Sabir, the mountain that overlooks the city of Taiz and is one of its most famous symbols, she appeared in a short video widely circulated on social media on November 10.

In her arms was the body of an infant from her family, identified as Gaza Ali Abdulmughni al-Shaqab, who had fallen ill and died after her family was unable to get her emergency medical care. The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms said the vehicle carrying the baby to the hospital was attacked by Houthi forces as it travelled through mountain roads.

“She died, and we couldn’t get her emergency treatment because of the siege,” the woman said, referring to the ongoing Houthi siege of al-Shaqab, which lies on a front line between the rebel group and Yemeni government forces.

The siege of Taiz and the surrounding areas such as al-Shaqab intensified in early October, when the Houthis advanced around the city and cut off the last major supply route into government-held areas.

Fighting between the Iran-backed group and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government intensified over the summer, before the Houthis captured substantial territory along Yemen’s Red Sea coast in September and then made further advances in Taiz governorate.

Government counteroffensives have only had limited success so far, and the siege of the city of Taiz continues.

The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of tightening their siege on nearly two million people living in Taiz for more than a month, preventing the entry of food, safe drinking water, medicines and fuel.

Inicio del artículo, extracto de Al Jazeera. Para leer el resto, abra el artículo en el sitio del medio.