'Imminent humanitarian disaster' looms in Yemen's war-torn Marib, official says

Part of Yemen's conflict-stricken Marib province is facing "an imminent humanitarian disaster", an official from the internationally recognised Yemeni government said on Wednesday.

The Abdiya district of Marib has been under the "continuous siege of [the] Iranian-backed Houthi militia" for about a month, Moammar Al-Eryani, the Hadi government's information minister, said on Twitter.

The area is running out of medical resources, while fuel shortages and power outages mean equipment in the district's only hospital has stopped working, al-Eryani said.

Eryani urged the international community to push for a lift on the blockade of the area, so that "food and medical aid" be brought in and the sick and injured be moved out for care elsewhere.

Indiscriminate bombing by the Houthis has injured scores of civilians, al-Eryani claimed, citing medical sources.

1-We warn of an imminent humanitarian disaster due to continuous siege of Iranian-backed Houthi militia on Abdiya district, Marib, for abt month, &its medical supplies is running out, equipment has stopped in the only hospital in district due to shortage of diesel &power outages.

— معمر الإرياني (@ERYANIM) October 13, 2021

Marib, which has significant oil resources, has been the scene of an escalating fight between the Houthi insurgents and government for several weeks now.

The rebels are battling to take Marib city, the capital of the province, from the authorities. The city is the government's last bastion in the north of the country.

The violence in Yemen, which first surged seven years ago as the Houthi insurgents took Sanaa, the country's capital, has caused "the world's worst humanitarian crisis", the United Nations has said.

Around 233,000 people had died by late 2020, according to the UN.