Houthis’ military offensive near Marib pushes Yemen’s displaced to limit

The humanitarian disaster in Yemen entered another chapter as the Houthi assault on the city of Marib threatened to engulf camps where internally displaced people seek shelter.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels are continuing their offensive there against the Yemeni government and local tribal forces.

“I fled our IDP camp in Sirwah as the Houthis tightened the noose around it,” said Mariam Ahmed, a refugee.

“I took my four children and headed towards Al Rawdha camp in central Marib city,” she told The National.

“We walked nearly 25 kilometres from Sirwah to Al Rawdha under heavy shelling.

“We were forced to take a mountainous, rough road because the Houthis kept shelling the main road that links Sirwah with the city of Marib, to prevent people from fleeing so they can use them as human shields.

“A new suffering began as we arrived in the IDP camp. No tent, no food, no clean water but in fact, the IDPs in the camp didn’t spare any effort to help.

“They shared with us their meagre resources to collect us from the open.”

Thousands were displaced by the fighting from more than five camps in Sirwah and Raghwan districts of western Marib to new camps in and around Marib city.

The Houthis are trying to take full control of the last northern foothold for Yemen’s internationally recognised government.

The Yemeni government’s IDP Executive Unit appealed for an urgent humanitarian assistance.

“We send this appeal to all the humanitarian work partners to urgently respond to the needs of thousands of IDPs who fled their former camps due to the recent Houthi offensive,” Dr Khaled Musaed, the manager of the government’s IDP Executive Unit in Marib, told The National.

He said that since the Houthi offensive began this month, 1,517 families and 12,005 individuals fled to new IDP camps in Marib and to safe havens in Al Jubah district.

“The new IDPs need food aid, shelter, toilets, clean water and medications,” Dr Musaed said.

He said that a humanitarian response by international organisations was overdue because the majority of the UN operations do not have warehouses for supplies in Marib and they need to move aid supplies from Aden or from Hadramawt. Doing so would take time.

International organisations in Marib said the Houthi escalation posed a threat to the lives of 2,231,000 displaced people.

“The International Committee of the Red Cross urges all parties to the conflict to take every possible measure to protect civilians and their properties, and to allow safe passage for those who want to escape the fighting,” Basheer Omar, spokesman of the ICRC-Yemen, told The National.

“The ICRC calls on all parties to the conflict to allow for the Yemeni Red Cross Society and

ICRC teams and humanitarian workers to provide emergency aid to people trapped in and around fighting areas.”

Last Friday, the office of the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights said that thousands of displaced people in camps in Sirwah district would be severely affected by water and food shortages as the clashes surrounded their camps.

“Given the potentially disastrous humanitarian consequences, we call on all parties to the conflict to de-escalate the situation and remind them of their obligations under international law to protect civilians from the adverse effects of the armed conflict,” said Liz Throssell, the spokeswoman for the OHCHR.

We were forced to take a rough road because the Houthis kept shelling the main road that links Sirwah with Marib

MARIAM AHMED

Refugee