Yemen’s Taiz records 5,000 illness cases amid Houthi waste blockade
12:28, 05/11/2026, Thursday
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Authorities in Yemen's southwestern Taiz province recorded over 5,000 infectious disease cases in October as waste piled up in the besieged city, while Deputy Governor Ailan Abdel Haq accused Houthi forces of blocking garbage trucks and displacing thousands of families strained depleted services.
Disease outbreak in Taiz
Taiz province’s Office for Siege Affairs recorded 5,025 cases of infectious and respiratory illness during October as waste accumulated in streets, residential areas — and drainage channels, according to a statement released Tuesday. The cases include fevers and respiratory infections linked to piles of garbage, which have mounted as 6,400 families recently displaced by fighting joined thousands already sheltering in the city. Governor Nabil Shamsan said the latest arrivals brought the total number of displaced families in the city to 39,400, adding to pressure on already strained services.
Houthi blockade accused
Deputy Governor Ailan Abdel Haq accused Houthi forces Tuesday of turning back waste trucks before they could unload at a temporary landfill west of the city, noting that Taiz has been unable to access its main landfill for more than 11 years. Abdel Haq urged UN agencies to intervene to allow trucks through and reopen the main disposal site, while rights groups accuse the Houthis of besieging the city and blocking aid convoys. The Houthi group did not immediately comment on the accusations regarding waste truck turnbacks or the broader siege allegations.
Shelling kills civilians
A shell fired by Houthi forces struck a home in Al-Athawir village in Hayfan district, killing three girls aged 3, 7 and 12 and a 35-year-old woman, the Office for Siege Affairs said. Four other civilians were wounded in the attack. Ayman al-Kamali, director of the Taiz Human Rights Center, told Anadolu that more than 50 civilians were killed and dozens wounded by shelling, sniper fire and mine explosions across the province over the past four weeks.
Military escalation
Government forces control Taiz city while the Houthis hold surrounding parts of the province. A military escalation that resumed in July has killed and wounded thousands and displaced more than a quarter of a million people, according to UN reports. The escalation ended a period of relative calm that had prevailed since April 2022. Yemen has been at war since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and several provinces in September 2014, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.
