Michigan - The American Center for Justice (ACJ) has released a new report titled "Siege of Taiz: A Humanitarian crisis," shedding light on the humanitarian suffering faced by the residents of Taiz for 9 years due to the Houthi-imposed siege.

The ACJ report outlines the alarming humanitarian dimensions resulting from this siege, which has caused suffering for more than one and a half million Yemenis, including the near-complete deprivation of basic necessities. The Houthi group has resorted to collective punishment against the residents of Taiz as retaliation for their refusal to accept the group's forceful takeover of power.

The center, through its field team, collected a substantial amount of data and testimonies on the extended effects of the siege. These figures revealed that residents were deprived of fundamental rights, such as the right to life, movement, and physical safety. Additionally, the economic situation deteriorated, with many sources of income lost, negatively impacting social life and increasing rates of divorce, family disintegration, and child school dropouts.

The report documented violations during the period from March 2015 to December 2023, where 3,021 citizens were killed and 6,361 others were injured due to sniping, shelling, and landmines. The report also documented the arrest of 477 people, the forced disappearance of 79, and the torture of 59 others.

The center's field team recorded 31 incidents where the Houthi group obstructed humanitarian aid convoys, confiscating 22 trucks of food and medical supplies intended for the city's residents and redirecting these supplies to support the war effort.

In the first year of the siege, the report documented the death of 26 civilians due to the lack of oxygen in hospitals, including 9 children and 7 women. The siege also led to the displacement of 44,749 families, comprising 214,693 individuals across 17 districts of the governorate, with the Houthi group forcibly displacing 22 villages in the districts of Al-Taziyah, Jabal Habashi, Maqbana, and Saber Al-Mawadim.

The blockade of major roads prevented healthcare access for patients with kidney failure and cancer from the governorate. Additionally, 20,621 university and technical institute students were affected. As a result, prices of basic goods and medicines increased by 500%, and transportation costs for people and goods rose by 1000%.

The American Center for Justice concluded its report with a series of demands, including a call for the international community not to link the Taiz siege with political and military matters in negotiations, and to address it as a humanitarian issue requiring urgent intervention. The center also urged the Houthi group to lift the siege on the city, open main roads from the east, west, and north, allow the entry of goods and humanitarian aid, and ensure the safe passage of travelers to and from the city. It emphasized that the rights to life, movement, work, and freedom are inherent to humans and should not be subject to negotiation.