Yemen Monitor/Newsroom
A report released on Saturday by the American Center for Justice (ACJ) revealed that the Houthi group has caused the death and injury of 9,382 civilians in the city of Taiz, southwestern Yemen, over the past eight years.
The ACJ report stated that the Houthis were responsible for the killing of 3,021 civilians and the injury of 6,361 others, including women and children, in Taiz Governorate as a result of sniping, direct shelling of the city, and the planting of mines, from March 2015 to December 2023.
The center added that the Houthis had arrested 477 individuals, while 79 others were subjected to enforced disappearance and 59 to torture.
The report detailed the most prominent violations suffered by civilians over the nine years, as well as the catastrophic effects and repercussions on the population, including the closure of the main roads leading to the city from the east, west, and north, which led to a 400% increase in the prices of basic commodities due to the difficulty of transporting goods through alternative routes, in addition to a significant increase in transportation costs.
The center documented the obstruction of 31 aid convoys and the seizure of 22 trucks of basic food and medical supplies for the city’s residents, which were diverted for the war effort.
The report also documented the complete destruction of three health units and partial damage to three hospitals, as well as approximately 22 health centers and 20 health units, while 13 health centers and 32 health units ceased operation due to the displacement of medical staff and the lack of fuel. Three health sector employees died, and two were obstructed, while 252 were forcibly displaced outside the city.
The report noted that the war and siege on the city caused the displacement of 44,749 families, numbering 214,693 individuals, in 17 districts of the governorate.
The report stated that the siege imposed by the Houthis on the city prevented kidney and cancer patients from receiving healthcare at the only centers within the city.
It indicated that 20,621 university and technical institute students were affected by the siege and the closure of roads, which prevented them from continuing their education. The number of affected school students reached 32,000.
The siege also caused the prices of basic food items and medicines to increase by 500%, and transportation costs for individuals to increase by 1,000%.
In conclusion, the center called on the international community to end the tragedy of the siege of Taiz, open the main roads to the city, remove mines and snipers from rooftops and heights overlooking the city’s entrances, allow the entry of humanitarian aid and commercial goods through the city’s main ports, and provide the city’s public water institution with the quantities of water that were allocated to it before the imposition of the siege.
The center also called on the Houthis to open the main roads from the east, west, and north, and the safe passage of travelers to and from the city, hand over mine maps, lift the siege on the villages located in the contact areas, and release the victims who are imprisoned and forcibly disappeared in its prisons and detention centers.
