Yemen’s civilians face death and a crushing siege as fighting expands to the city of Hudaydah and its main roads
Violence must end and inclusive peace talks resume
SUMMARY
The Saudi and UAE-led Coalition has intensified its assault towards Hudaydah’s city and port, with already devastating consequences for civilians. Despite their assertions, international actors should not believe that this can go on without disproportionate harm to civilians, or with any confidence that it will bring Yemen’s conflict to an end.
Hundreds of thousands of people, including women and girls, could be trapped in Hudaydah, without access to adequate food, water and medical care, if fighting continues and the main roads out of the city are blocked. Civilians have suffered so much – from the Houthis as well as from the Coalition and the internationally recognized government. Oxfam asks how the Coalition’s latest actions can possibly be proportionate to the civilian harm that they are causing – when, for instance, airstrikes damaging water supply systems have undermined water supplies to about 58,000 families.
‘The signs of famine that struck two years ago are again visible in the district center.’
Saeed Saleh, a 50-year old school teacher in Tuhyata district, Hudaydah
This urgent briefing adds new evidence – from Oxfam’s interviews with civilians on the ground – to the warnings that the UN and others have already made.
There must be an immediate cessation of all fighting, and a turn towards an inclusive peace process, engaging Yemen’s women, youth and civil society
