Escalation of the Siege of Taiz and the Blowing Up of the Heejah Al-Abd Road Threaten to Deprive Civilians of Food and Medicine
Press Release
The Human Rights Information and Training Center (HRITC) condemns the Houthi militias’ escalation of their siege of Taiz city and the continued indiscriminate shelling of residential neighborhoods. This dangerous escalation threatens civilians’ lives and fundamental rights and risks exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe that the city has endured for years.
The Center, a regional organization holding special consultative status with the United Nations, expresses grave concern over the destruction of the main road in the Heejah Al-Abd area. This road is a vital supply route connecting Taiz to the interim capital, Aden, and serves as a key passage for the delivery of food, medicine, fuel, and other essential supplies to the population.
According to credible information received by the Center’s team, Houthi-affiliated forces detonated explosives on the Heejah Al-Abd road in the Al-Turbah area at approximately 4:00 a.m. on October 18, 2026. The explosion caused extensive damage to the road, including the destruction of a water culvert at one of its bends. Based on the available field verification, the damage is consistent with the use of explosives placed beneath the ground.
Local sources interviewed by the Center’s team described the incident, saying: “It was an enormous and terrifying explosion. Everyone woke up. Stones reached our homes.”
The Center also verified the incident’s location through a journalist acting as a field monitor, who confirmed the geographical location of the damage. This further reinforces concerns that the road was targeted as part of an escalation aimed at disrupting civilian movement and the delivery of essential supplies to Taiz city.
The incident comes amid the Houthi militias’ control of Al-Turbah city since October 4, 2026. Al-Turbah occupies a strategic position along the road leading to Taiz and overlooks this vital passage. The targeting of the Heejah Al-Abd road further increases the risk of isolating residents and disrupting the delivery of supplies, at a time when Taiz has been under siege since 2015.
The Center emphasizes that starving civilians or deliberately depriving them of items indispensable to their survival, including food and medicine, is prohibited under international humanitarian law. Deliberately using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, or launching unlawful attacks against civilian objects, constitutes war crimes that warrant accountability. International humanitarian law also prohibits the collective punishment of civilian populations.
The Center warns that disrupting the most important supply route to Taiz city threatens more than just infrastructure. It poses direct humanitarian risks to hundreds of thousands of civilians, particularly children, patients, and older people, whose survival depends on the continued flow of food, medicine, fuel, and other essential goods and services.
In this regard, the Human Rights Information and Training Center calls for the following:
- An immediate halt to indiscriminate shelling of residential neighborhoods by the Houthi militias, and an end to attacks on roads, civilian facilities, and infrastructure essential to the population’s survival.
- The reopening and securing of the Heejah Al-Abd road, ensuring the unhindered passage of civilians and trucks carrying food, medicine, and fuel.
- The lifting of the siege imposed on Taiz city and the termination of all measures that lead to the starvation of residents or deprive them of essential services and basic necessities.
- Urgent action by the United Nations, the international community, and human rights and humanitarian organizations to monitor and investigate violations and ensure that humanitarian aid reaches civilians without obstruction.
- Accountability for serious violations of international humanitarian law, ensuring that those responsible are not allowed to escape justice.
The Center stresses that civilians in Taiz are not parties to the conflict, and their basic needs must never be turned into instruments of military or political pressure.
Cutting supply routes and shelling residential areas compound the suffering of the population and threaten the rights to life, health, food, and security.
Taiz needs safe corridors for life and serious international action to end the suffering of its residents and protect them from further violations.
Human Rights Information and Training Center (HRITC)
October 27, 2026
