Key Messages
Intense fighting has taken place in Aden since 14 July with scores of people killed and injured. For nearly four months, movement within the city has been heavily restricted for residents and humanitarian agencies alike. Hundreds of thousands of residents have been displaced within Aden and to neighbouring governorates.
The city has been hit by an outbreak of dengue fever and communicable diseases, and faces extreme shortages of medical supplies, food, water and electricity. The escalation of violence will only heighten these needs and post further obstacles to people reaching safety and assistance. All parties must abide by their obligations to protect all civilians and civilian assets, and allow rapid access to humanitarian assistance.
Aden experiences a serious escalation of violence
Hostilities in Aden have escalated dramatically over the last 24 hours, with renewed combat since 14 July on the ground, hours of airstrikes and naval shelling. The humanitarian situation in Aden is of extreme concern, with the water supply in Khur Maksar District severely damaged and hospitals across the city receiving large numbers of casualties. Many houses have also been damaged and residents are in need of emergency shelter. Availability of food is also extremely limited.
Humanitarian agencies have enormous concerns about the welfare of more than half a million people who remain in the city who have lost, or may imminently lose, access to water, food and medical care. More than half of the city’s health facilities are no longer reporting case surveillance information and the threat of further disease outbreak, such as cholera and measles, is high without functioning and staffed health facilities and water provision.
The contested districts of Khur Maksar and Ash Shaikh Outhman house Yemen’s largest seaport and international airport, and were the initial focus of the intensified fighting, which has now moved towards Craiter and Al Mualla districts.
The main sea ports and the airport have not been viable since late March. Their closure has deprived the people of Aden of essential supplies and the freedom to move to safety. Aden residents have faced challenges moving not only in and out of the city, but also within the city across district lines.
Residents of Aden have suffered the unbearable impact of violence since March, with the collapse of vital health services and loss of access for many to water, electricity, food supplies, schooling and livelihoods.
More than 5,000 residents of Aden have been killed or injured, and hundreds of thousands displaced, including 185,000 within the city. Diesel, essential for the main water supply and generator power for hospitals and clinics, is unavailable in the city. The staple food, wheat, has more than doubled in price in Aden since the escalation of the conflict, and partners have faced barriers to bringing vital supplies into the city.
Despite this, an interagency convoy carrying humanitarian supplies travelled to Aden on 6 July including 19 trucks carrying 356.5 MT of medical equipment and vital household items. Medical supplies for 80,000 people included kits to treat diarrhoea, parasitic worm infections, conduct surgery, deliver babies and vaccinate 35,000 children.
More than 21 million people are in need of some kind of humanitarian assistance in Yemen, including 13 million people who are unable to meet their food needs and 1.3 million who are displaced as a result of the fighting. The entire governorate of Aden has been identified by humanitarian partners as being in need of humanitarian assistance.