UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations on Tuesday characterized the Houthi encirclement of Yemen’s third-largest city, Taiz, as a “medieval siege,” warning that approximately one million residents are being cut off from essential food, water, and medical supplies.
“We are in the 21st century, yet we are witnessing medieval sieges of cities,” said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, responding to a query from Arab News. “We saw it in Sudan, we are seeing it here in Yemen. How can this be allowed to happen?”
When asked how the Houthis have responded to repeated UN demands to reopen roads, permit humanitarian aid access, and cease attacks on medical facilities, Dujarric stated bluntly: “The proof is in the pudding: the road is still closed.” He emphasized that the UN continues to press for access “through different channels” given the immense risk to civilian lives.
“UN humanitarians and our partners cannot shoot their way through a siege,” Dujarric added. “The inhumanity of what is going on needs to be recognized.”
The remarks follow a warning Monday from Tom Fletcher, the UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator, who confirmed that all roads into Taiz remain shut and critical supplies are dwindling. Water production in the city has been halved, food prices have surged by at least 50 percent, and hospitals are facing acute shortages of fuel and medicine.
“We have food and medicines ready to move, but the roads must be opened by the parties and those supplies must be let in as soon as possible,” Fletcher urged.
Humanitarian agencies report that the total road closure is disrupting every facet of daily life and severely hampering aid operations across the country. Dujarric noted that healthcare infrastructure continues to be targeted in violation of international humanitarian law. Citing World Health Organization data, he said 27 health facilities and seven ambulances have been damaged or destroyed, and six health workers killed since the latest escalation in fighting began in August.
Hospitals in Taiz city are relying on emergency stockpiles, with shortages of fuel, oxygen, water, medicines, blood products, and surgical supplies worsening across the governorate as rising trauma caseloads further strain an already overstretched health system.
While cholera cases in Yemen have declined for a third consecutive week, the UN recorded more than 22,500 suspected measles cases and nearly 130 resulting deaths — four out of five victims being children under five. Diphtheria currently carries the highest fatality rate of any disease in the country.
Meanwhile, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, has been conducting meetings in Riyadh following a visit to Bahrain, as he continues engaging stakeholders to identify practical steps toward a political solution to the conflict.
The civil war erupted in September 2014, and the Houthis first severed key arteries into Taiz in 2015, imposing a de facto siege that persisted for years before some routes reopened in 2024. The militia renewed the blockade in September after seizing territory south of the city and cutting the main highway linking Taiz to government-held areas.
On October 18, Houthi forces used explosives to severely damage the Hayjat Al-Abd road, another critical access route, according to Human Rights Watch. A local planning official described the current blockade as more comprehensive than the 2015 siege, as it extends to secondary roads connecting rural districts.
