Yemen’s Taiz under siege again as food and fuel prices rise

Taiz, Yemen – Taiz is under siege, but 37-year-old Iskandar Abdullah already knows what it’s like to live under one.The city, a major population centre in Yemen’s southwest, endured a devastating Houthi siege between 2015 and 2016, as the Iranian-backed group attempted to capture the city from local pro-government forces. The Houthis continued to maintain a partial siege in the following years through their control over other access points into the city.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Houthi attack on Riyadh airport killed three Saudi nationalslist 2 of 3From Aden to Sanaa, Yemenis struggle to deal with soaring living costslist 3 of 3How October 7 changed Lebanon and Hezbollah’s political realityend of list“They were difficult days,” Abdullah recalls, even as the Houthis begin a new siege on Taiz following their capture of territory to the south of the city, cutting off the main road to government-held territory. “We witnessed the horrors of the siege and experienced the bitterness of life in all its terrifying details.”“I hope those painful days never return.”In early September, the Houthis launched an offensive along the Red Sea coast of Taiz governorate. The group ...