Taiz has faced drinking-water shortages for more than a decade, but the situation has worsened in recent weeks, according to reporting by NPR and the South China Morning Post. The reports describe the current conditions as a severe crisis in the southwestern Yemeni city.
The South China Morning Post reports that the needs of Taiz’s more than 1 million residents are barely being met, citing humanitarian groups whose names were not specified in the supplied material. The report says access to wells is limited, desalination plants are running low on fuel and water-delivery trucks are largely prevented from entering the city.
Families are rationing water, the South China Morning Post reports. The shortages are occurring as Iran-backed Houthi rebels tighten their encirclement of Taiz during an escalating conflict with government forces, according to the supplied reporting.
The available reports establish that Taiz’s long-running water shortage has reached crisis levels, but they do not provide a precise measurement of remaining supplies or establish the exact number of people directly affected beyond the attributed reference to more than 1 million residents whose needs are barely being met.