Yemen: Taiz under siege again as petrol prices triple
After the Houthis cut the last major road, about 3 million people in Taiz live under siege. Fuel and food prices are soaring, and local authorities have asked the U.N. for help.
Archive image · Photo: Rod Waddington / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized)
The city of Taiz in southwestern Yemen is once again under siege, Al Jazeera reports. By Oct. 4, the Houthis had captured al-Turbah, cutting the last main road between the city and other government-held areas; the eastern crossing to Houthi-held northern areas has also closed. About 2.8 million people live in government-held parts of the governorate, plus some 200,000 recently displaced.
On the black market, a 20-litre container of petrol has risen from 30,000 to 90,000 riyals ($19 to $58). Wheat and flour prices are climbing, and vegetable and fruit prices have roughly doubled. "The siege is more comprehensive and its impact more severe than in 2015," said Nabil Jamil, head of the governorate's planning office. Local authorities have written to the United Nations and say they are still waiting for a response.
Meanwhile, Saudi-backed government forces reported advances near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, through which about 12% of global trade passes, but had not secured it. The Houthis said they repelled the assault, and Mayun Island remains in their hands. Government forces, backed by Saudi Arabia, launched a counteroffensive in early October.