Sana’a: Fierce confrontations between warring factions in northern Yemen have driven hundreds of families out of their homes, officials and witnesses said.
Al Houthi rebels engaged in fighting with tribesmen and allied army troops in the province of Jawf a couple of months ago. The tribesmen, mostly affiliated to the Islamist Islah party, say that the rebels are trying to expand their territories. The rebels respond by saying that they are exercising self-defence and fighting oppression.
Mohammad Jassar, a local resident, told Gulf News that he and his big family fled their home in Al Ghail district in the early days of the fighting. “We moved from one place to another seeking safety and shelter. Al Houthis bombed our houses,”
Jassar has a family of ten members, six of them used to go to school when they were living in their district.
“Schools are either closed or destroyed by the fighting. Many families left their homes. We want accommodation, transportation and basic living items,” Jassar said.
“Al Houthis destroyed my house. Many civilians have been killed in the fighting. Returning my children to school is not a priority as we are in need of a home and food.”
Local officials say that the conflict began two months ago when Al Houthis incited allied tribesmen to control some districts in the province after their control of Amran province. The centre of clashes are in two districts; Al Ghail and Majzer, according to Brigadier Mohammad Al Oudaini, the chief security official of the province.
Al Oudaini told Gulf News that there is no accurate information on the number of deaths from both sides.
“The clashes have killed dozens of people from both sides and displaced hundreds of families. Due to tribal norms, each tribe in the province provides displaced members with shelter and food.”
Local residents also maintain that the fighting is raging day after day as both sides use different kinds of weapons.
Mubarak Al Oubadi, a local journalist, told Gulf News that the displaced people are experiencing hard times since there is not enough aid or proper health care.
“They dispersed to their relatives’ houses. I visited eight families who were crammed into a small house. The situation is tragic. Some families have fled with their clothes, leaving behind all their important belongings.”
The clashes have galvanised a United Nation official into sounding a warning about the humanitarian situation of the displaced people.
The deputy spokesman for the UN Secretary General, Farhan Haq, told reporters that as many as 650 families have been forced to leave their homes in the conflict-hit province of Jawf.
“The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that fighting in Al Jawf, in northern Yemen, has displaced about 8,000 people in recent weeks. About 300,000 people remain long-term displaced in Hajjah, Amran and Saada,” the official said in his daily briefing in New York on August 4.
