Yemen’s government calls lifting the Taiz siege a national priority and urges wider Houthi terrorist listing
Yemen Herald News 
ADEN, Yemen — Yemen’s government said lifting the Houthi siege of Taiz and securing roads into the city are national priorities, in a statement issued at a conference in Aden on Wednesday.
The conference reviewed the impact of the war and the siege on Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city. The statement was addressed to the public, to diplomatic missions and to international organisations.
The account of the statement rests on reports by Yemen TV and 26 September Net, both aligned with the internationally recognised government. Yemen Herald found no independent confirmation of the proceedings. Neither report named the convener, the speakers or the number of participants.
The government said the blockade, attacks on civilians and the disruption of essential supplies violate citizens’ rights and undermine state sovereignty. It held the Houthi movement responsible. The Houthis have not responded to the statement.
It pledged to mobilise state resources and to support the armed forces in defending the republic, lifting the siege and restoring state institutions.
The statement tied that pledge to Operation Yemen Dawn. Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, named the offensive when it began on Monday, Oct. 5. He said in a televised speech that its aim was recovering the remaining territories held by the Houthis. The Saudi-led coalition said 100 fighter jets supported government forces, Euronews reported.
The government had said the previous day that it was mobilising troops across the areas it controls.
The offensive followed Houthi gains around Taiz. Houthi forces took al-Turbah on Oct. 4, cutting the last main road between Taiz city and other government-held areas. The Institute for the Study of War said the loss would likely constrain the government’s ability to reinforce and resupply front-line positions in the governorate.
The Houthis captured the Red Sea port of Mocha in September and still hold it. A route into the city from the east, reopened under a 2024 agreement, has been closed since fighting resumed.
Adam Baron, of the New America research institute, said the siege leaves roughly a million people trapped in the city, Al Jazeera reported on Oct. 11. Nabil Jamil, of the government’s planning office in Taiz, put the population of government-held parts of the governorate at about 2.8 million, with a further 200,000 recently displaced.
Yemen’s health ministry said on Oct. 10 that medicines, intravenous fluids, medical supplies and fuel at health facilities in Taiz were nearing depletion. It warned that emergency care, surgery, intensive care, dialysis and neonatal services could stop. Fuel shortages threaten generators, ambulances and the cold chain for medicines and vaccines.
The United Nations said wheat and flour in the city could run out in less than three weeks. Food prices have risen about 50 percent. Cooking gas is largely unavailable and petrol prices have tripled. A 20-litre container of petrol sold on the black market for 90,000 Yemeni riyals, about $58, up from 30,000 riyals.
The World Health Organization recorded at least 959 people killed and more than 4,200 wounded since the fighting intensified. The International Organization for Migration put internal displacement at about 174,097 people. More than 3,000 crossed to Djibouti.
The government condemned what it called Iran’s military, financial and technical support for the Houthi movement. Iran denies arming the group. The statement called for international action to halt weapons transfers, disrupt funding and smuggling networks and hold those involved to account.
It asked international partners for political, military, security, logistical, economic and humanitarian support, and urged them to press the Houthis to end the siege and open the main roads safely.
The statement also called for the international terrorist designation of the Houthi movement to be widened.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution in Strasbourg on Oct. 22 calling on European Union governments to add the group to the bloc’s terrorist list. The resolution does not bind member states.
The government said international action should be judged by its effect on lifting the siege, stopping attacks and cutting off the movement’s weapons and funding.
It praised what it described as the resilience of Taiz residents and commended the armed forces, security personnel and popular resistance units. It thanked Saudi Arabia for its continued support.
Taiz has been divided since Houthi forces moved into the governorate in 2015. The government-held centre of the city has been encircled for most of the period since.
The United Nations reported 8,034 suspected cholera cases and 27 deaths in Yemen this year, a quarter of them in the four weeks to Oct. 11. It recorded more than 22,800 suspected measles cases and 128 deaths over the same period. Vaccination coverage is estimated at 45 percent for each of the two recommended doses.
The United Nations humanitarian response plan for Yemen, published in March, put the number of people needing aid at more than 22 million, with 18.3 million acutely food insecure and 5.2 million displaced inside the country. The plan sought $2.16 billion to reach 12 million people.
The World Health Organization said about 200,000 people have been displaced across Yemen since August. It said about 500 health facilities in nine governorates lack support from humanitarian partners.
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