In besieged Yemeni city, drinking water supplies hit crisis levels

AI Summary

Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, is facing a severe drinking-water crisis, with supplies barely meeting the needs of more than one million residents. A Houthi siege amid fighting with government forces has restricted access to wells and blocked water deliveries, while fuel shortages are limiting desalination operations.

Drinking water has been scarce for over a decade in Taiz, but the problem has reached crisis levels in recent weeks as Iran-backed Houthi rebels besiege Yemen’s third-largest city in their escalating conflict with government forces. The needs of Taiz’s more than 1 million residents are now barely being met, humanitarian groups say, as access to wells is limited, desalination plants run low on fuel and water delivery trucks are largely prevented from entering the city. Families are rationing...