Sanaa diary: Only airstrikes light up the night sky

The evening comes, and the electricity goes off. I look out of the window and see complete darkness.

This is Sanaa. It's difficult to live in such an environment. During air raids and shelling there is nothing to see apart from anti-aircraft guns firing towards the sky in different directions, lighting up the darkness.

Along with the sounds of the explosions I can hear the hum of a few generators operating. Meanwhile, I try and make sure I'm ready for the night, with laptop, mobile and router charged, so that I can keep up to date with what is happening and ready for any emergency.

These are our nights: bombings and black-outs, with death somewhere in between.

The city is emptying. My eyes tell me that much. People have left the city, and others keep themselves indoors in fear. It becomes impossible to find a taxi at night – the last time I found myself out after 10 pm I resorted to taking a motorcycle home.

There is a fuel crisis. Aside from the civilian victims of the conflict, and the damage to Yemen's infrastructure, the fuel crisis is the latest and greatest complication the country is facing. There are long lines of cars at petrol stations, which open and close quickly in fear of being targeted. This has already happened in Ibb, where six died in an airstrike on a petrol station.

Some stations do have fuel but choose to hoard it.

The fuel crisis is hitting those most in need, of course, including patients in hospitals. UNICEF is now having to supply power generators with fuel to keep vaccine stores safe. I feel sorry for these patients; those who suffer when the electricity goes out and even face death due to the limited capacity of the hospitals. They might have generators, but the question is, how long can they survive with this severe fuel shortage?

The other question is, when some of these patients die, will they be considered victims of this war, and will 'Decisive Storm' or the Houthi and Saleh militias be held accountable?

These two aggressions that Yemen is facing have caused harmful consequences for us and complicated our lives. Civilians are dying, at the receiving end of attacks by both sides. Those fighting have zero concern about the consequences of the current conflict on us – ordinary people who keep suffering, a suffering that increases daily.

As I contemplate this, I read a friend's Facebook status.

“A friend in need is a friend indeed – What I need is only 20 litres of petrol to drive my family away from Sanaa.”

This is the pain and fear that people face every day now. Will the war leaders ever understand the suffering Yemenis endure on a daily basis?