Yemen’s Taiz under siege again as food and fuel prices rise

Being under siege means Taiz is surrounded by fighting forces and has lost dependable routes for bringing in essential supplies. The renewed blockade affects the city’s main roads and many secondary roads, leaving residents unable to move goods normally. It matters because a city’s survival depends on regular access to food, fuel, medicine, and water.

The Houthis captured al-Turbah on October 4, cutting the only remaining main road between Taiz city and other government-held areas. A separate eastern crossing was also closed after attempted Houthi incursions. During the earlier siege, supplies sometimes arrived through rugged mountains on people’s and donkeys’ backs.

The renewed siege quickly emptied streets because fuel became scarce. Petrol on the black market tripled from 30,000 to 90,000 Yemeni riyals per 20-litre container. Residents are buying food rapidly, while officials warn that about 3 million people could face worsening humanitarian and economic conditions.

Taiz became isolated after Houthi advances removed several routes into and around the governorate. In early September, the Houthis took the port city of Mocha and the district of Dhubab along the Red Sea coast. They later pressed into the countryside surrounding Taiz and captured al-Turbah on October 4.

Al-Turbah was crucial because it carried the only remaining main road between Taiz city and other government-held areas. The eastern crossing, reopened in 2024 after domestic and international pressure, was also closed after attempted Houthi incursions. That crossing had become a major entry point for food supplies from Sanaa and other Houthi-controlled areas.

The closures now affect more than the main highways. Nabil Jamil said most secondary roads connecting rural districts were also blocked. This leaves government-held Taiz separated from nearby government territory and makes supplies slower, costlier, and less reliable.

Approximately 3 million people in government-held areas of Taiz governorate could face hardship from the renewed siege. The figure combines about 2.8 million people already living in those areas with another 200,000 recently displaced by fighting along the coast and in rural Taiz.

The scale matters because the blockade reaches beyond Taiz city. Nabil Jamil said the siege affects the governorate’s main roads and most secondary roads linking rural districts. That can disrupt movement for residents who may depend on the city and surrounding markets for food, fuel, and medicine.

Jamil warned that all these people could experience humanitarian hardship and deteriorating living conditions. The article does not provide a separate forecast for how many will face shortages first. It does show that the impact could extend across a large population, not just the city’s residents, as fighting continues and routes remain closed.

When a city’s supply routes are cut, fewer essential goods can enter and transport becomes more difficult. Shops receive less food, fuel deliveries stop or shrink, and medicines become harder to obtain. Scarcity then pushes prices upward, especially when residents fear that shelves will soon be empty.

Taiz shows this mechanism clearly. Fuel had previously entered through the al-Turbah route from Aden, but that route was severed after the Houthi capture of al-Turbah. Within less than a week, streets appeared almost deserted. Petrol on the black market rose from 30,000 to 90,000 Yemeni riyals for a 20-litre container.

Residents also rushed to stock up on food. Markets reported higher prices for basic goods, particularly wheat and flour. Some residents accused traders of hoarding and monopolising supplies. The earlier siege showed the possible human cost: shortages of water, food, fuel, medicine, and even oxygen.

The Houthis are the group that controls Yemen’s populous northwest, including the capital Sanaa. The article describes them as Iranian-backed and says they have controlled those areas since Yemen’s war began in 2014. They have also advanced through Taiz governorate and along the Red Sea coast.

Their immediate conflict with government forces concerns control of territory and roads. The Houthis attempted to capture Taiz from local pro-government forces during the 2015–2016 siege. More recently, they captured Mocha, Dhubab, and al-Turbah, while government forces backed by Saudi Arabia launched a counteroffensive and regained some territory.

The article does not explain the wider political or military reasons for the war. It does show the practical result: rival forces control different parts of Yemen, and Houthi advances have closed routes linking Taiz with government-held areas. Those territorial changes have helped create the renewed siege.

The 2015–2016 siege ended when pro-government forces recaptured territory south of Taiz city. That reopened access after pro-government fighters had been confined to an enclave in the city centre. The breakthrough allowed supplies and movement to resume more normally than during the blockade.

Taiz remained vulnerable because the Houthis continued controlling other access points after the siege was broken. In 2024, another important eastern route was reopened under domestic and international pressure. It connected Taiz with Sanaa and other Houthi-controlled areas, and much of the city’s food entered through that crossing.

The renewed fighting closed that crossing after attempted Houthi incursions. The later capture of al-Turbah also cut the main road to government-held territory. Because Taiz depends on a limited number of routes through contested areas, advances or closures can quickly recreate siege conditions.

Supply chains normally connect producers and suppliers to a city through roads, crossings, transporters, traders, markets, and shops. Each link helps move goods in steady quantities. Fuel powers transport, while food and medicines depend on repeated deliveries. When routes work, competition and regular restocking help keep supplies available.

Restricting those connections breaks the flow. Fewer goods enter, transport costs and risks rise, and traders have less stock to sell. At the same time, residents may buy extra supplies because they fear shortages. In Taiz, the closure of al-Turbah stopped a route from Aden, while the eastern crossing had previously supplied much of the city’s food.

The result can be rapid inflation and humanitarian crisis. Taiz petrol rose from 30,000 to 90,000 Yemeni riyals per 20 litres, while wheat and flour prices increased. Earlier, residents lacked water, food, fuel, medicine, and oxygen supplies.