For the first time since Houthis waged a military escalation targeting civilians and uprooting hundreds of families, the UN’s Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator, Diego Zorilla, visited al-Juba district south of the Yemeni governorate of Marib.
Zorilla listened to escapees who described the horrors committed by militias against al-Juba residents and complained about the inaction of international organizations.
During Zorilla’s visit, the UN official and his accompanying delegation reviewed humanitarian conditions in al-Juba, Yemeni government sources revealed.
Iran-backed Houthi militias have been waging an expansive war against al-Juba’s southern outskirts. This campaign has seen horrendous human rights violations against civilians, the targeting of refugee camps, and the looting of humanitarian relief.
Zorilla also met with the head of al-Juba’s local council, Mohammed Nimran.
Nimran explained the overall catastrophic humanitarian situation facing the population and displaced refugees in al-Juba amid “an absence of a real and effective role for the UN and its organizations.”
“Houthi militias’ systematic targeting of homes and civilians in villages, remote and safe camps, and public service facilities with ballistic missiles, drones, and long-range heavy weapons, aims to turn the district into an arena for conflict and worsen the humanitarian situation,” Nimran told Zorilla.
He added that the Houthi escalation either forces civilians to flee from their homes or die by continuous militia bombardment.
The Yemeni official moved on to urge the UN to “play its humanitarian, legal and moral role, and not show double standards when dealing with the violations and crimes committed by the Houthi militia.”
Local authorities in al-Juba organized a field tour for Zorilla that saw the UN official visit several villages and civilian areas in the district.
During the tour, Zorilla was briefed on the damages caused by direct targeting of villages, housing, and public service facilities with ballistic missiles, explosive drones, and heavy weapons fire.
