Un Calls for Opening Taiz Roads and Unhindered Humanitarian Access

Yemen Monitor / Newsroom: UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, called on all warring parties in Yemen to reopen blocked roads and permit the unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance to the besieged city of Taiz, warning of deteriorating conditions driven by armed escalation and supply restrictions. In a statement issued Monday by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Fletcher reported that approximately 300,000 people have been forced from their homes since August due to escalating hostilities nationwide. Highlighting the crisis in Taiz—a city home to nearly one million residents—Fletcher warned that prolonged road closures and depleting supplies are plunging the area deeper into hardship. He noted that municipal water production has plummeted by 50 percent, while basic food prices have surged by at least 50 percent. Hospitals in Taiz are grappling with critical shortages of fuel and medical supplies as humanitarian demands outpace current response capacities, despite relief partners managing to deliver aid to roughly 260,000 displaced individuals. The UN official emphasized that the United Nations stands ready with prepositioned food stocks and medical supplies, but requires guaranteed humanitarian access. Calling for the immediate reopening of vital transport corridors, Fletcher stressed that “civilians must not be held hostage to the conflict.” Fletcher added that he held discussions on Monday with Yemen’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Afrah Abdulaziz Al-Zouba, to address the worsening humanitarian disaster and coordinate strategies to secure full, unrestricted relief access. In the same statement, the UN relief chief expressed profound outrage over the death of UN human rights staff member Mohammed Al-Shami while held in detention by the Houthi movement. He demanded the immediate release of 70 UN personnel alongside dozens of other humanitarian workers who remain detained. Fletcher affirmed that humanitarian workers must never be used as bargaining chips, calling for their unconditional release. The post Un Calls for Opening Taiz Roads and Unhindered Humanitarian Access appeared first on Yemen Monitor.