Fighting escalated in Marib, displacing hundreds of families ... and 14 local and international organizations warn of a humanitarian catastrophe
English - Wednesday 09 September 2020 الساعة 12:10 pm
Marib, NewsYemen, Exclusive:
The northern, southern and western districts of Marib Governorate have been witnessing fierce battles for weeks between the legitimate forces and the Houthi militia, the Iranian arm in Yemen, which resulted in the killing and wounding of hundreds on both sides, as well as the displacement of hundreds of families.
The Houthi militia opened several fronts in its recent attack on Marib, during which Iran’s arm was able to dismantle the areas and theater of military operations and isolate each front, region and district and isolate each one from the other.
Within weeks, the militia was able to control from the west what remained from the Kassara front, Al-Khadra and Hailan Besarwah, reaching areas around the center of the Western City Directorate.
The militia also imposed its control over 90% of Madghal district and the same in Majzar district.
In the southern part, the militia managed to take control of the Mahlia district and advance towards the Al-Jouba and Al-Rahba districts.
The intensification of the fighting on the outskirts of Marib forced hundreds of families to flee to Shabwa, Seiyun, and Hadramout.
The International Organization for Migration said that 334 families were displaced in Marib Governorate within a week, due to the escalation of fighting in several directorates between the army forces and the Houthi militia.
The organization added, in a report, Monday, that between August 30 and September 5, the organization's displacement tracking matrix tracked 543 families or 3,258 individuals who were displaced at least once.
In the context, 14 Yemeni and international human rights and humanitarian organizations expressed, on Monday, September 7, their great concern about the escalation of military operations between the Houthi militia and the legitimate forces, in the areas surrounding Marib, eastern Yemen, which may threaten a major humanitarian disaster.
In a statement, the organizations called on the international community, the United Nations Mission in Yemen, and international governmental and non-governmental organizations to work to prevent the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the burning areas, and to work to press for an immediate ceasefire in the current conflict areas and to call for a long humanitarian truce between all parties.
The human rights and humanitarian organizations indicated in their joint statement that the continuing battles in the vicinity of Marib will not only affect hundreds of thousands of camp residents and the displaced, but will also affect oil, gas and fuel supplies to millions of citizens in the governorates of the republic, including the capital, Sana'a itself, due to the potential impacts. To strike oil and energy supply lines, gas stations and containers in Marib, as a result of the escalating fighting.
The organizations expressed their fear that the Yemenis will enter into a new possible famine, which will be imposed this time by the difficulties and costs of life due to the potential exposure to the infrastructure of energy facilities in Marib.
The organizations condemned the slow response by the UN envoy, and the active states and international organizations, noting that the peace process should not be subject to political considerations and assessments that are far from abstract humanitarian considerations.
The organizations demanded that the UN envoy and the international community carry out their duties in protecting civilians and establishing a humanitarian and safe zone that would remove the battles from the vicinity of the Ma'rib region to protect hundreds of thousands of civilians threatened with displacement.
The statement issued by the organizations revealed a call for relief and humanitarian organizations to urgently supply the areas of the displaced with the necessary supplies for survival, such as food, medical services and fuel, in addition to an invitation to the UN envoy and the United Nations office to visit Marib and Al-Jawf and to assess the situation there.
The organizations called on all parties participating in the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and international human rights law and to fully cooperate and to keep confrontations away from civilian places, whether camps or residential neighborhoods.
