Halo Trust demining workers still trapped by Houthi siege in Taiz

Around 30 deminers from Halo Trust are among the hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in the Houthi-encircled city of Taiz, Yemen, according to the organization. The Houthi rebels have blocked all supply routes leading to and from the city, leaving it cut off from the interim capital of Aden. The trust stated that all routes through the mountains connecting Taiz to Aden have been severed.

The region is known for its extensive mine contamination. Humanitarian groups have expressed concern over dwindling food, water, medicine, and fuel supplies in the city. One of Halo Trust's employees is currently stranded outside the city, unable to reunite with her family due to the siege. Mara van der Kamp, the Yemen programme manager for Halo Trust, emphasized the plight of those caught in the siege, stating that the longer it persists, the greater the suffering for civilians with no safe refuge.

On Wednesday, the Houthis claimed responsibility for a ballistic missile attack on a Saudi operations room in Aden, though Saudi Arabia has not yet confirmed the strike. Earlier this week, Houthi missiles targeted the Presidential Palace in Aden, resulting in five deaths. On Monday, the government confirmed at least 73 casualties following a Houthi strike on a military training camp in Shabwa.

Saudi Arabia has been intervening in Yemen's civil war since 2015, supporting the internationally recognized government against the Houthis, who seized Sanaa in 2014, fearing Iranian influence and instability along the Red Sea coast. The UN brokered a truce in 2022 that temporarily maintained peace, but Saudi Arabia recently resumed its military campaign to counter the Houthis' recent advances towards the Bab Al Mandeb strait.

The EU has called on the Houthis to lift their siege of Taiz, while the UN has urged urgent action to avert a humanitarian catastrophe, as at least 600,000 people in Taiz rely on aid, including over 200,000 children. Since the recent escalation of fighting, more than 200,000 people have been displaced from their homes, according to the UN's International Organisation for Migration.