Thousands Flee as Yemen Pulled Into War09/17 06:09

   

   CAIRO (AP) -- As Houthi rebels closed in, Eshraq Abdel Gelil and her husband 
fled their home, walking through the mountains before catching a ride to a 
nearby city. Four months pregnant, she feared another miscarriage.

   They are among more than 125,000 people who have fled as the Iran-backed 
rebels have advanced down the Red Sea coast to a key maritime chokepoint. The 
offensive, linked to the wider Iran war, has threatened Saudi oil exports, 
pushed up global fuel prices and rattled markets.

   The cost has been far greater for Yemenis caught in the crossfire. Many have 
fled their homes with only what they could carry. The Arab world's poorest 
country was pushed to the brink of famine in an earlier phase of the civil war, 
which killed an estimated 150,000 people.

   A Saudi-led blockade, along with the Houthis' repressive rule and detention 
of U.N. and aid workers, has made life miserable in the now-expanding territory 
under rebel control. Yemen's Saudi-backed government, weak and fragmented, has 
struggled to push them back.

   Yemenis describe a harrowing flight from the front lines

   Abdel Gelil is now sheltering with family in the southwestern city of Taiz, 
while others are sleeping in the streets or erecting makeshift tents out of 
plastic.

   Her husband, Mohamed Thabet, said the latest fighting was "extremely fierce" 
and more intense than a battle in 2017 that had also forced him to flee. "There 
was shelling and shrapnel near the house," he said.

   They walked for 5 kilometers (3 miles) before taking a vehicle for around 60 
kilometers (37 miles) on mountain roads.

   When they arrived in Taiz, a doctor told them that the baby had moved lower 
in the womb. Abdel Gelil miscarried at the same point in a previous pregnancy.

   "My wife cried from the shock and was very fearful," Thabet said.

   Now they are packed into a home with extended family. They can only afford 
to eat twice a day, and they worry that Abdel Gelil is not getting enough 
nutrients for her and the baby.

   Thabet also worries about his sister, who hasn't been able to afford her 
diabetes medication for over a month. She and her two daughters, 8 and 13, have 
a blood condition that makes them susceptible to anemia, he said.

   The renewed fighting is linked to the unresolved Iran war

   The civil war dates back to 2014, when the Houthis seized much of northern 
Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa. Saudi Arabia intervened the following year 
in support of Yemen's internationally recognized government. A 2022 ceasefire 
largely halted the fighting.

   Hostilities erupted again in July, when the Houthis renewed attacks on Saudi 
Arabia in what the rebels said was an attempt to lift the blockade. The attacks 
on Saudi Arabia's oil industry came as the U.S. was having some success in 
reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

   The fighting in Yemen has killed eight civilians and wounded another 32, 
according to the U.N. humanitarian office, which says an estimated 125,000 
people have fled their homes. The U.N. children's agency, known as UNICEF, says 
the displaced include more than 57,000 children.

   "This is one of the most fast-moving and volatile displacement waves Yemen 
has seen in years," said Obia Achieng, a UNICEF representative in Yemen. 
"Families are fleeing with little or no warning, often at night, carrying only 
what they can grab."

   "The situation is particularly concerning because it comes on top of an 
already severe humanitarian crisis," Achieng added.

   There are limited resources for those fleeing

   Before the latest fighting, the U.N. had warned that around 5 million 
Yemenis were experiencing "crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity."

   Milena Murr, of Prosper Global, a humanitarian group previously known as 
Mercy Corps, said some people arriving in Taiz had walked for over 16 hours, 
arriving at displacement camps exhausted, dehydrated and with some of the 
children appearing malnourished.

   Iman Abdullahi, country director for CARE, another aid group, said there's 
an urgent need for food, maternal and newborn healthcare, hygiene supplies, 
private latrines and mental health support.

   "One woman had to wash her only clothes and remain inside her tent until 
they dried because she had nothing else to wear. Another was forced to flee 
just two weeks after giving birth," he said.

   Nashwan Ahmed Said was stitching together a tent from plastic wheat sacks. 
He said this is the third time he's been displaced since the start of the war.

   "We are in such a state! We have no home, no toilet, no food and nothing to 
drink," he said.

   Arwa Ahmed, who was displaced with her five children, said she and her 
family ate nothing but rice for days.

   "We need everything. We need tents, we need food and all the essentials, 
because we were displaced and took nothing with us," she said.