Key facts
- Taiz is Yemen's third-largest city with an estimated population of 600,000.
- 80,000 people have fled the latest fighting in Taiz.
- Wheat flour stocks in Taiz are nearly exhausted.
- One in three children screened in Yemen is malnourished.
The city of Taiz is emerging as the most critical battlefront in Yemen's civil war, which resumed this summer after a four-year truce. Houthi forces, allied with Iran, have encircled Taiz by cutting its main road south to Aden, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis and displacing at least 121,000 people in the province. The city, Yemen's third-largest with an estimated 600,000 residents, has been a stronghold of opposition to the Houthis since the conflict began in early 2015. A Houthi victory would be a significant turning point, potentially hindering government efforts to maintain control around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and defend Aden. The military situation sees Houthis controlling territory to the south of Taiz, while government forces, supported by Saudi-led coalition airstrikes, attempt to regain ground and reopen supply routes. Residents face severe shortages of fuel, food, medicines, and clean water, with wheat flour stocks nearing exhaustion.