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TAIZ, Yemen—Like other residents of Taiz, Hael Mohammed is struggling to find food and other life essentials for his family as an escalating war between Ansarallah and a Saudi-led coalition draws in on the city.

“No one can imagine how difficult the journey is just to find a propane cylinder or a bag of wheat in this city,” the 41-year-old pharmacist and father of three told Drop Site News. “Many food traders told me their stores have run out of wheat, rice, and other essentials. When I finally found wheat, it was nearly double its normal price.”

Mohammed said that residents across Taiz are stockpiling food, fearing they could be trapped in their homes as the ground battles close in. The third largest city in Yemen, located in the southwestern highlands, Taiz has long been on the front line of Yemen’s civil war—and is now encircled by fighting.

Taiz governorate consists of 23 districts, 20 of which are now under Ansarallah control. Only three districts remain under control by the internationally recognized government—the three that comprise Taiz city itself.

Ansarallah now controls all entry points to Taiz city. These entrances have turned into active frontlines with only brief pauses in fighting. Drivers are forced to wait for the short lulls—which usually last no more than a few hours a day—to enter or leave the city.

The continuous fighting has sparked widespread terror among residents, who fear the conflict could reach their homes at any moment. The road blockades have also had severe economic consequences: fuel and basic commodities can no longer enter regularly, driving prices up to three times their normal cost for essential items like fuel.

While some food trucks have managed to enter the city in recent weeks, supply has fallen far short of demand, with residents scrambling to stock up on supplies as the fighting rages on the outskirts.

“The fighting is less than five kilometers (about 3 miles) from my home, and that is reason enough for me to be worried. I successfully purchased a 25-kilogram bag of wheat flour and I have cooking gas,” Mohammed said. But he has been forced to go into debt to afford food. “That was the only way to secure food for my family,” Mohammed said. “I went into debt even though I have a salary, so what about those who are unemployed or displaced? It must be much worse for them.”

For now he is buying bread from a local bakery, even though it costs 50% more than usual, preferring to preserve his cooking gas and flour rather than face another desperate search for supplies later on. “We won’t use the gas until we are completely unable to leave our home,” he said.

A Growing Humanitarian Crisis

Last month, Ansarallah (also known as the Houthis) swept south from their northern stronghold in a lightning offensive, launching heavy attacks on Saudi-backed government forces in southern Hodeidah and western Taiz governorate. The Houthis quickly took control of the strategic city of Mocha and Yemen’s Red Sea coast to control the Bab al-Mandab strait, a vital waterway for global shipping.

At the beginning of October, Ansarallah launched another major offensive against government forces in southern and western Taiz governorate. By October 4, they had made significant advances, seizing the main road linking Taiz city to the governorate’s southern and western areas, as well as to Lahj governorate.

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) warned on Wednesday the fighting and road closures have cut off humanitarian assistance to some 800,000 people in Taiz and other affected areas. Wheat flour stocks are nearly exhausted, while remaining food supplies in local markets may last only a short time.

In May, even before the latest phase of fighting, the UN warned that more than 22 million people required humanitarian assistance and protection services across Yemen, including 5.2 million who were displaced. The recent escalation in the military conflict has forced an additional 201,217 people from their homes, according to data released last week by the International Organization for Migration. The number is continuing to rise every day.

Streets in Taiz city that used to be crowded late into the night are now largely deserted. As a result of the road closures into the city, the price of fuel has nearly tripled, with 20 liters (5.3 gallons) of petrol rising from 30,000 Yemeni riyals (around $19) to 90,000 riyals (around $57). Few cars and buses move through the streets by day, and almost none at night due to the security risks.

Aside from the huge rise in transportation costs, getting food and other goods into the city has become a harrowing ordeal.

“All the breadwinners went to the market at once to buy food, so it is only natural that our stores ran out,” a food trader told Drop Site News. He agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity for security concerns. Several food traders declined to be interviewed about the crisis, fearing accusations of price gouging and hoarding from local residents. “There are drivers who wait sometimes for days for the fighting to pause—even if for just a few minutes or an hour—so they can enter the city with wheat, rice, or other supplies.”

The food trader said that deliveries take significantly longer, fuel prices in the city have tripled, and drivers risk their lives entering Taiz—all factors driving up food prices.

“High prices are inevitable now, but even at these rates, some buyers are willing to purchase everything we have. That is why we resorted to dividing wheat into five-kilogram bags and capping sales at one bag per person,” the trader said.

Wheat and rice arriving at his store sell out the same day, he said, as residents gather in long queues the moment word spreads that a supply truck has reached the city.

The trader, who operates his own trucks, said that his drivers are reluctant to risk their lives crossing battle lines. “We only do this to help the people of Taiz, because everyone is terrified about what’s coming and just wants safety,” he said. “If not for that purpose, I would close my shop and stay home instead of risking my life to help others.”

Ansarallah previously controlled the main roads leading into Taiz city between 2015 and 2016, before government forces advanced and secured the southern entrance road.

Taiz on the Frontline

Taiz has been a major frontline between Ansarallah and government forces since 2015—when street battles in the city left civilians dead and injured. It endured a brutal, yearslong siege until a UN-brokered truce in 2022. That truce held across much of the country, including Taiz, until last month.

“We can manage the fuel crisis by using firewood for cooking and walking on foot instead of taking a bus, but our main concern now is the danger of battles reaching every home, as happened in 2015,” Walid Saeed, a 51-year-old resident of Taiz city, told Drop Site.

Saeed lives with his wife, two children, and parents in Al-Moroor neighborhood of Taiz. Having lived through the 2015 battles in the city, he desperately wants to avoid repeating that nightmare and prefers to flee.

“I wish I could flee the city today, before tomorrow, but the roads aren’t safe and fighting is ongoing. Fleeing right now means risking our lives, which is no different from staying,” he said. “From a security standpoint, deciding to flee right now is not easy.”

Saeed, who works as a daily-wage electrician, noted that fleeing the city also requires money to hire a vehicle—an expense that many people like him simply cannot afford.

“Unfortunately, we missed the window to flee safely, so we have no choice now but to stay in our home, even if the battles reach our doorstep,” he said.

All public services in Taiz city have been impacted by the escalation: schools and universities are closed, and many public institutions have suspended operations until conditions stabilize. However, the most severe impact has been on health care, as the city serves as a critical medical hub for patients traveling from surrounding villages.

Ahmed Al-Issai, who is in his 60s, has suffered from kidney failure for more than five years. He used to travel twice a week from his village, 40 kilometers (about 25 miles) from Taiz city, for dialysis. But with the roads no longer safe, he has resorted to living in the courtyard of Al-Thawrah Hospital in Taiz city.

“There is no hospital outside the city that offers dialysis for my condition, and it isn’t safe to keep traveling back and forth between my village and the hospital,” Al-Issai told Drop Site. “I also cannot afford a hotel or a rented room because I am unemployed, so I resorted to sleeping on a piece of cardboard in this courtyard.”

Al-Issai knows that if he misses or delays his dialysis sessions, he faces life-threatening complications. As a result, his entire life is now spent between that piece of cardboard and the dialysis machine, stepping away from the hospital yard only to find food.

“I won’t leave the hospital courtyard until this escalation ends and the roads reopen,” he said.

NOTE: The reporter for this story has been granted anonymity because of the security situation in Yemen.

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