Drinking water has been scarce for over a decade in Taiz, but the problem has reached crisis levels in recent weeks as Iran-backed Houthi rebels besiege Yemen’s third-largest city in their escalating conflict with government forces.
asserted
rebels → drink → forces
The needs of Taiz’s more than 1 million residents are now barely being met, humanitarian groups say, as access to wells is limited, desalination plants run low on fuel and water delivery trucks are largely prevented from entering the city.
asserted
trucks → meet → city
Families are rationing every drop.
asserted
Families → ration → drop
Before Taiz came under siege, Hadil al-Shahid and her two young children used about 10 liters (about 2.6 gallons) of bottled water per day for drinking and cooking; now they are making the same amount last about four days.
asserted
amount → come → drinking
“We stopped drinking coffee and tea, which we used to drink daily,” al-Shahid said in a phone interview.
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Shahid → drink → interview
Families like al-Shahid’s are paying as much as 75% more for bottled water than just a few weeks ago, and some have begun to buy water on credit.
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some → pay → credit
The siege of Taiz — a strategic gateway to southern Yemen — isn’t only constricting water supplies.
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siege → constrict → supplies
Shortages of groceries have sent food prices soaring.
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prices → send → groceries
Fuel is also in short supply, making it difficult to maintain basic services such as hospitals and sanitation, which compounds the public health risks.
asserted
which → make → risks
Amnesty International has called on the Houthis to immediately open roads into the city, saying Taiz is being pushed to “the brink of a severe humanitarian disaster.”
asserted
Taiz → call → disaster
Houthis strangle Taiz, cut off residents’ access to wells
Yemen descended into civil war in 2014, when the Houthis seized much of the country’s north, including the capital of Sanaa, and forced the internationally recognized government into exile.
asserted
Houthis → strangle → exile
War-related damage to Taiz’s aging water infrastructure magnified the pressures of population growth and frequent droughts that led to shrinking supplies of groundwater.
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that → relate → groundwater
Residents began paying for water delivered by trucks, a mostly reliable alternative — until recently.
asserted
Residents → begin → trucks
By August, Yemen had become a widening front in the Iran war.
asserted
Yemen → become → war
The Houthis ramped up their advance on Taiz last month, after a lightning-fast capture of the port city of Mokha, an area about 130 kilometers (80 miles) away that is vital to controlling shipping through the Red Sea.
asserted
that → ramp → Sea
As Houthi forces took control of more land and roads surrounding Taiz, residents’ access to nearby wells was cut off and deliveries of water from outside the city declined.
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deliveries → take → city
The truckers that have managed to ferry water into Taiz have in some cases tripled their rates to make the perilous journey.
asserted
that → manage → journey
As Taiz’s fuel supplies dwindle, its water utility is struggling to maintain limited operations and desalination plants are running well below capacity.
asserted
plants → dwindle → capacity
The city is also enduring shortages of fuel and food
asserted
city → endure → fuel
Since August, Taiz province, which includes the city and surrounding areas, has taken in roughly half of those displaced from other parts of Yemen because of the fighting — an estimated 124,000 people, according to the United Nations’ migration experts.
uncertain
which → include → experts
That is only compounding the pressure on Taiz’s limited supply of water and other necessities.
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That → compound → water
Some displaced families are now living in makeshift shelters or tents and surviving on one meal a day, said Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for a division of the United Nations that focuses on emergency aid.
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that → displace → aid
Fuel for cooking and transportation has also become scarce — and more expensive.
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Fuel → become → cooking
The price of cooking gas has more than quadrupled, according to Hani Bafaqih, a water, sanitation and hygiene expert at the aid organization CARE in Yemen.
uncertain
price → quadruple → Yemen
To get by, some families are cooking over fires made by burning wood, charcoal or cardboard.
asserted
families → get → wood
These fuel shortages have made it harder for community kitchens to provide free hot meals to families and have also forced waste-collection services to shut down.
“The shortages feed into each other.
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shortages → make → other
Without fuel, water pumps, hospital generators and solid-waste collection stop.
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pumps → stop → fuel
With less clean water and waste piling up, the risk of disease, including cholera, rises,” Laerke said.
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Laerke → pile → cholera
The health risks are exacerbated by thirsty families tapping into unprotected wells that could be contaminated with waterborne diseases, he said.
uncertain
he → exacerbate → diseases
Food prices are also soaring.
asserted
prices → soar → ?
Flour and rice are about 50% more expensive than they were over the summer, according to aid groups, and fruits and vegetables are hard to find.
uncertain
fruits → accord → groups
Ahmed Abdel Gaber is living with nine other family members in the ruins of another building after being displaced from their home by the fighting.
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Gaber → live → fighting
He used to earn money hauling construction material, but that income is no longer steady and his family is barely scraping by.
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family → use → material
“We heavily rely on assistance and donations from people to get food,” he said in a phone interview.
Al-Shahid, a hair salon owner, said her income also dried up a few weeks ago.
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income → rely → interview
The salon was forced to close as former customers began to prioritize their spending on food and water.
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customers → force → food
Her 10-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son now eat mostly rice, bread and cheese, she said.
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she → eat → rice
Why Taiz matters to the Houthis
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Taiz → matter → Houthis
While the Yemeni government still controls the center of Taiz, the siege is making it difficult to deliver supplies to its forces there.
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it → control → forces
In the hills surrounding Taiz, the government forces are trying to repel the Houthis but face stiff resistance, especially east of the city.
asserted
forces → surround → city
Gaining control of Taiz city is vital to the Houthis if they seek to advance south toward Aden and Lahj, analysts say, but that won’t be easy.
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that → gain → Aden
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
