Burning Rubbish Chokes Besieged Taiz as Waste Goes Uncollected

Black smoke from burning rubbish hangs over the Usaifira area north of Taiz, in Yemen, and foul odours are reaching nearby residential neighbourhoods, according to Al Jazeera.

Taiz is Yemen's third-largest city, in the southwest of the country. Since early October, sanitation trucks have been unable to reach the main landfill, which lies in the western part of the city controlled by Houthi forces. Waste has piled up in the streets instead. Bags of uncollected household rubbish line the al-Saeed stream, which has become a smoke-filled dumping ground where fires break out from time to time.

Sanitation workers say snipers have been deployed near the landfill, and that staff have faced gunfire more than once while trying to reach the site to empty their trucks.

Mohammed Ibrahim, director of a cleaning initiative in Taiz, says the city produces between 550 and 600 tonnes of waste a day, or roughly 16,500 to 18,000 tonnes a month. He says collection has been severely affected since October 5.

That date also marks a sharp escalation in fighting around the city. Forces of Yemen's internationally recognised government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, launched an offensive on October 5 to retake Houthi-controlled areas.

An acute fuel shortage has made the problem worse. Without fuel, collection has stalled, rubbish has built up in streets and storm drains, and some residents have set their waste on fire.

Usaifira resident Abdo Hadi told Al Jazeera that the smoke and burning waste cause suffocation and disease among residents, including children. Earlier reporting by Al Jazeera said medical services in Taiz risked shutting down as fuel, medicines and supplies ran alarmingly low under the Houthi blockade.

In October, Reuters reported that water rationing was taking place alongside the rubbish pile-up, raising fears of disease. A relief organisation described the situation for children as an "extremely dangerous situation." On October 20, United Nations officials said at a briefing in Geneva that they were particularly concerned about Taiz city, which they described as effectively under siege, meaning encircled by fighting and cut off from normal supplies.

Prices have also climbed. Three weeks into the siege, prices had doubled and families were down to basics, Al Jazeera reported. Taiz resident Wathiq Mahyoub said prices were rising, fuel was running short and garbage was piling up on the streets, and he described the siege as suffocating.

Women who began by organising food deliveries for soldiers defending the city have started raising money to buy weapons and ammunition, Al Jazeera reported.