MARIB, Yemen (Reuters – Iman Saleh Ali and her family fled al-Jubah with just their clothing to escape the fighting between Houthi forces and the government forces. It was their second attempt to escape the conflict in the war for Yemen’s Marib.

The families are now waiting for help as they don’t have the means to rent accommodation. They live in Wadi Adiaba east of Marib City with 25 other families. This camp is home to thousands of refugees from Yemen.

We took everything with us. Not even blankets. “People fleeing,” stated the woman in her 50s. We need to sleep in warm, comfortable tents until God hears our prayers so we can finally settle down.

Young girls and boys help to erect a camp around their relatives’ homes. Women gather twigs for cooking meals, while they tighten the ropes. The children are given water to drink from a metal container as the flies buzz.

United Nations estimates that around 10,000 people were forced to flee Marib Governorate last month by fighting. It is internationally recognized as the government’s northern last stronghold. The UN is calling for humanitarian assistance.

Marib City is one of the districts in the governorate. Security was heightened with patrols and checkpoints as the Houthis try to encircle the city.

They seized al-Abdiyah, Harib and Harib last week. Fighting continues in al-Jubah/Jabal Murad where Ali used to live but had to flee two months back due to fighting.

She said, “We had hoped that we would live in al-Jubah. But the war came after us.” We have nothing because none of us works and have no income to rent.

AID FLOWS

David Gressly (UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen) told Reuters that most access had been restricted to al-Abdiyah, which holds some 35,000 persons. But that although security concerns still remain, they now have authorization.

He said that food was provided in coordination with World Food Programme right before fighting began. This is exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, where millions are on edge of starvation and more than 20 million people needing aid.

Greesly declared, “We believe that the current situation is calmer” and urged for greater access to the area in the coming days. However, Greesly also called on the warring sides to agree to the humanitarian corridor.

We are sending supplies and food to the region, as well as emergency kits, in order to provide essential necessities for people who have been displaced.

A coalition of Saudi Arabian-backed Houthis fighters has killed tens to thousands of Yemenis since the Houthis overtook the Iranian-aligned government in Sanaa. The intervention came months after it was ousted from the capital.

Greesly said in Sanaa that this year, between 200 and 250 civilians died each month in Yemen due to active fighting or landmines.

He stated, “It’s unacceptable to lose this many lives per month.”