The UN Human Rights Chief, Volker Turk, said on Tuesday that the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, must immediately allow humanitarian relief into the besieged city of Taiz or risk a catastrophe. "The Houthis' closure of the only supply route linking Taiz to Aden is placing civilians at grave risk, blocking humanitarian aid and cutting off essential supplies," Turk said. "Humanitarian aid must be immediately allowed to enter the city and its passage must be facilitated. Civilians wishing to leave must be allowed to do so freely and safely."
The city has been encircled again after the Houthis captured a major road linking Taiz to southern Yemen. The humanitarian situation is reaching a breaking point, with the prices of basic commodities multiplying amid shortages. At least 32 civilians, including 14 children, were killed in fighting in Taiz governorate between August 1 and October 19, with fears of more deaths as fighting approaches the city.
The UN World Food Programme has warned that shifting front lines and road closures have cut off 800,000 people from life-saving assistance, the vast majority in Taiz. Nationwide, more than 18 million Yemenis face severe food insecurity. Yemen's internationally recognised government has appealed to the UN to intervene and lift the blockade, warning that the siege threatens more than 4 million people.
On Monday, a Houthi ballistic missile attack on the al-Alam military camp in Shabwa governorate killed 73 people, according to local authorities. The Yemeni government condemned the attack as a "treacherous bloody assault" and a war crime. President Rashad al-Alimi formally requested the UN to designate the Houthis as a terrorist organisation.
The United Kingdom said on Tuesday it would deploy Typhoon fighter jets to help protect Saudi Arabia from Houthi attacks, with the Ministry of Defence saying the jets would play a "defensive role" only and would not carry out attacks in Yemen. Egypt's parliament, meanwhile, delayed a vote on Monday to authorise the military to support Saudi Arabia.
Military and security affairs expert Ali al-Dahab said international support for the anti-Houthi alliance was unlikely to translate into ground forces in Yemen, with participation expected to remain limited to air and naval support. He questioned whether the Yemeni government's offensive, launched on 5 October under the name "Dawn of Yemen", has run out of steam, noting that the transition from defence to offence remains limited on the ground.
Cross-border attacks have intensified. The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis towards Riyadh on Tuesday, prompting Saudi civil defence to activate early warning platforms across the capital. The coalition has launched waves of strikes on Houthi positions across Yemen during the past week.