Yemen – Women in Yemen’s third largest city tell Houthis to lift their siege of Taiz

Location: Taiz, Yemen

Language: Arabic

Duration: 00:02:17

Voice: Natural

Source: A24 Aden

Restriction: A24 subscribers

Date: 05/08/2022

Storyline:

Women in the southern highlands city of Taiz waver between feelings of hope and skepticism about prospects for peace and better lives.

On Tuesday, the UN announced a sixty-day extension of the Yemen truce– intermittently in effect since April.

Key roads around Taiz, the country’s third largest city, remain closed.

Umm Ayman told A24 that she needs to see the Houthi lift the siege choking Taiz from 2016.

UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, announced extending the truce between the two Yemeni parties through October 2.

The UN agreement obligates Iranian-supported Houthi rebels to open the major roads around the city, but they have yet to do so.But doubts remain high in Taiz, said, Dalia Mohamed a community activist.

“Several massacres occurred during the previous truce,targeting children, in addition to sniping and shelling of civilian homes in several areas,” Mohamed

told A24.

In a related statement, the children’s agency, UNICEF welcomed the truce renewal while pointing out that at least 113 children were confirmed killed or maimed since it began on April 2.

Shotlist:

• Soundbite (Umm Ayman – citizen):

“We were happy with the truce. I was hoping to return to Hawban area to visit my family. Unfortunately, there was no real truce. The situation remained the same. We hoped to live with our families. Living here is tiring and we are all alone. Life is very difficult. We also hope that the truce results in the opening of the main road because traveling on the current road is very stressful.”

• Soundbite (Dalia Mohamed – Community Activist):

“We are not optimistic, because any truce that is announced is on paper only, or it is announced between the UN envoy and the Houthis. As for us, especially in the city of Taiz, we were not included in any truce, whether the previous one or the new one. When we hear about a truce, we declare a state of emergency and expect an increase in the danger because the shelling actually increases. Several massacres occurred during the previous truce, one of which was in the western city of Taiz, targeting children, in addition to sniping and shelling of civilian homes in several areas.”