A human rights report issued on Sunday accused the United Nations envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, and the international community of ignoring "the humanitarian file in Taiz and the siege being imposed by the Houthis on the city for six years."

The report of the Taiz Human Rights Center issued on Sunday made it clear that the city of Taiz is living under the unjust siege imposed by the Houthi group, by erecting dozens of checkpoints to prevent entry to the most basic needs of the population.

It said, "This crime is almost completely ignored on the list of concerns of relief bodies, organizations and initiatives at the regional and international levels."

The report indicated that this disregard negatively affected the humanitarian situation in Taiz through "the almost total cessation of all relief work and efforts and the non-flow of any humanitarian aid to the liberated areas for more than three consecutive years without knowing the reasons."

The report titled (The Humanitarian File in Taiz.. Siege, Killing, Ignoring), monitored the effects of the siege imposed on the city of Taiz and its repercussions on the economic, living, health, social and humanitarian situation.

The report said that "the economic deterioration in the city of Taiz as a result of the siege and other auxiliary factors had negative repercussions on the lives and livelihoods of the city's residents, in light of the great difficulty in movement, the lack of their basic living needs and the high prices of food commodities."

It added that the health system in the city of Taiz recently witnessed a complete collapse in the absence of the role of the relevant authorities affiliated with the legitimate government, as well as the lack of support and foreign aid, as well as the difficulty of transporting patients to outside the city of Taiz as a result of the siege and the restrictions imposed on movement even between the Governorate Directorate itself.

The report indicated that the latest statistics announced by some local and international human rights organizations indicate that 17,326 civilians were killed and wounded at the hands of the Houthi militia during the period from March 2015 to the end of 2020, including 3,916 children, 1,527 women and 1,053 elderly.

It stated that the Houthis' violations against civilians varied between sniping, missile and artillery shelling on residential neighborhoods and places of public gatherings within the besieged areas in Taiz Governorate, in addition to the planting of mines and explosive devices.

The report called on the Houthi militia to quickly lift the siege imposed on Taiz, allow the flow of humanitarian aid and return all the looted humanitarian and relief aid and aid that was held at checkpoints.

The report also called on the militia to immediately stop all hostilities, violations and crimes carried out against the civilian population in Taiz, including missile and artillery shelling and sniping.

It stressed the need to cancel all the arbitrary financial measures that were recently taken by the militias regarding the old local currency exchange differences and the consequent doubling of the value of remittances and an exorbitant rise in the prices of food commodities.

It called on the legitimate government to include the humanitarian file in Taiz Governorate in its top priorities in any negotiations, dialogues or consultations related to the war in Yemen.

It also called on the government to fulfill its legal, constitutional and moral responsibility towards those affected by the Houthi siege, in addition to coordinating with local and international organizations and donors to restore humanitarian activity and relief efforts to the city of Taiz.

The report called on the United Nations to announce a clear and explicit position condemning the siege imposed by the Houthi group on the residents of Taiz Governorate and to pressure the group to quickly lift the siege "as an important step to prove goodwill and link this to the opening of Sana'a Airport."

It also called on the United Nations to intensify its relief and humanitarian efforts in order to alleviate the suffering of those affected by the war in Taiz Governorate and to save the displaced to the city from a real humanitarian catastrophe.

For its part, the Yemeni government called on the international community, the United Nations, the permanent members of the Security Council and international and US envoys to carry out their legal and humanitarian responsibilities and intensify pressure on the Houthi militia to lift the siege imposed on Taiz and facilitate the movement of civilians and the passage of food commodities in implementation of the Sweden Agreement.

In a statement carried by the state news agency today, Sunday, Minister of Information Muammar al-Eryani said that "the siege imposed on Taiz Governorate has left an unprecedented human tragedy and daily suffering for more than 4 million civilians, in a policy of collective punishment of the people of the Governorate that amounts to war crimes."

He added, "The continuation of the siege imposed by the militia on the people of Taiz for six years confirms the lie of the siege it claims in order to gain the sympathy of the international community and mislead them at the same time, in addition to trading in the humanitarian card, the falsity of its allegations and its miserable attempts to cover up its heinous crimes against Yemenis."

The Minister of Information stressed that "any efforts to calm down in Yemen that do not include lifting the complete and unconditional siege on Taiz Governorate and putting an end to the suffering of its people is an incomplete effort that turns its back on the suffering of four million citizens and confirms the international community's policy of double standards in dealing with humanitarian issues."