Civilians flee as war destroys roads in southern Yemen

The war in Yemen is grinding roads and ports into dust, pushing the human misery deeper with every passing hour. Thousands of civilians are now stuck in camps as vital routes shut down. The situation has spiraled out of control.

Mohammed heard the first shots in mid-September coming from his village in Jabal Habashi district near Taiz. It started as distant shelling and gunfire. By the next day, the violence had grown louder and closer. Four years of quiet peace ended abruptly for this community where Houthi rebels pushed into government-held ground. The fighting made Mohammed fear stepping outside his home or tending to his farm.

He packed up quickly with his wife and child and headed toward Taiz city. But even there, danger lurks. Taiz sits on the front lines between the Yemeni government forces and the Houthis for most of the twelve-year conflict. Finding a relative who could offer temporary shelter was a stroke of luck for Mohammed. Thousands others pouring into the city from the countryside have nowhere to go but makeshift camps.

"I am lucky to have a relative who can accommodate me even temporarily," Mohammed told Al Jazeera. "I cannot stand life in crowded camps lacking access to food, healthcare and sanitation." His story is just one part of a massive displacement wave hitting Taiz and other war-torn areas. This surge places unbearable strain on humanitarian services that are already stretched thin.

The chaos began when Houthis made a lightning advance in September, seizing the entire Red Sea coast and tightening their grip on the Bab al-Mandeb strait. That waterway is a critical international shipping route. With roads damaged and ports failing due to the fighting, getting aid into these camps has become a nightmare for officials and aid groups alike.

Internal displacement numbers could balloon past 230,000 people following the latest clashes, according to the United Nations on September 22. That figure sits on top of more than 5.2 million internally displaced persons already scattered across Yemen. Mohammed Radman, a displacement coordinator with the Executive Unit for IDP Camp Management in Jabal Habashi district, visited several camps recently and saw the damage firsthand.

"Road closures have caused indescribable human suffering in Taiz and elsewhere where fighting has erupted," Radman said. "Closed roads … sometimes mean death for civilians." Before the escalation, aid trucks rolled into Taiz without much trouble. Now travel is dangerous. Drivers must navigate rough mountain passes as alternatives to the main arteries.

"The volume of humanitarian aid reaching those in need has declined," Radman added. "This has heightened the suffering of people, particularly the displaced." Abdulrahman, a 34-year-old man forced from his home in al-Waziiya district two weeks ago, now lives in Taiz city but dreams of returning. He needs to retrieve mattresses and cooking gas cylinders he left behind.

"If the roads were open as they were before the war, I would have gone to my house in al-Waziiya," Abdulrahman said. "Now, I am not sure I would be able to return safely. This reality makes it difficult for us to return to our areas." The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Yemen confirmed last week that humanitarian operations face severe constraints right now. The access blockade is a silent killer as many go hungry or sick without any way out.

Active front lines, movement restrictions, broken telecommunications, and shattered roads are holding back life-saving aid according to a United Nations body. These obstacles slow delivery to critical points of need.

Ali Othman, a humanitarian activist based in Taiz who has recently visited camps there, said displacement is causing real misery. Most families fled with only the clothes they wore on their backs because they escaped death, he told Al Jazeera. Many are now living together and sharing tents to survive.

Othman also listed other difficulties like the heavy burden on families hosting displaced relatives and strict limits on movement due to fighting. Roads are blocked or unsafe, which isolates displacement camps completely. Humanitarian organizations cannot reach these camps, so aid may never arrive at all. People inside the camps suffer unseen and uncared for amid the chaos of war. The cost of transporting food, medical supplies, and shelter materials goes up as roads close or become dangerous. Delivering humanitarian aid becomes increasingly challenging, or it fails to reach intended recipients altogether, Othman added.

The International Organization for Migration estimates that more than 22 million Yemenis are in urgent need of humanitarian aid. That figure represents approximately half the population. Before the fighting and the Houthi takeover of Mocha city and port, a truck took about three hours to travel from Mocha to Taiz city, according to Radman. Now the Mocha-Taiz road is closed. A journey from Taiz to Aden requires six hours or more. Before the ongoing conflict, that same trip would have taken only about two hours.

The renewed conflict is also affecting the flow of commercial goods into Yemen. This change increases concerns about food availability and prices. Wafiq Saleh, an economic researcher and executive director of the Taiz Centre for Yemeni-Gulf Studies, told Al Jazeera that the recent Houthi takeover of Mocha and sporadic rebel attacks on ships in the Red Sea led to a decline in vessels arriving at Yemeni ports. The country depends on imports for nearly 90 percent of its food commodities, Saleh said. Shrinking quantities of imports and aid will worsen the humanitarian situation in the nation. This problem will not hurt recently displaced people alone; its impact reaches other communities too.

A UN report indicated that wheat and flour imports fell sharply in August. That drop happened before the most recent fighting on the Red Sea. Imports were down 48 percent month-on-month and 32 percent below three-year averages.

Fuel imports crumbled even more sharply according to the latest report. The decline hit 67 percent from July levels and plunged 89 percent below historical averages. No petrol or diesel reached northern ports at all. Mocha port generated essential government revenue while serving as a lifeline for food and aid. Saleh stated that the humanitarian fallout remains crystal clear as long as Mocha stays shut, especially in regions that relied on it.

International humanitarian, development, and civil society organizations issued warnings on September 23 regarding the deepening crisis in Yemen. They urged world leaders at the UN General Assembly to act immediately. Their message focused on protecting aid delivery, maintaining essential services, and backing a comprehensive peace process led by Yemenis themselves. Yet the conflict on the ground shows no sign of stopping. Instead, it risks escalating if Houthis push further into Taiz territory or if the government launches its counterattack. The displacement crisis will likely get worse while humanitarian groups struggle to keep up with growing needs.

Mohammed escaped Jabal Habashi and registered as a displaced person in Taiz city just last week. He is still struggling for survival. "I have not received any aid, and I do not know whether I will receive any," he said. "There is a sea of displaced people.