Between bullets and piles of garbage the story of a Yemeni city haunted by smoke under siege

Along the length of the stream, garbage bags and household waste accumulate in a scene that has become part of the daily life of the residents, who find themselves trapped between waste and smoke, in a crisis whose effects go beyond the deterioration of sanitation services to threatening their health and the safety of the surrounding environment.

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Since the beginning of October, the city has witnessed a growing accumulation of waste after garbage trucks were unable to reach the main landfill west of the city, located in a Houthi-controlled area. According to sanitation workers, snipers are deployed around the landfill, and they have been shot at repeatedly while attempting to reach it to unload the trucks, preventing the waste removal operations from continuing.

The inability to access the landfill has disrupted the waste collection and disposal system, at a time when the city is suffering from a severe shortage of petroleum products and a decline in the operational capabilities of the sanitation fund, which has led to the accumulation of waste in the streets and flood channels, and resorting to burning some of it to get rid of it.

the ground piles of waste in a number of the city’s streets, concentrated particularly in the Asifra area, where the waste extends inside the stream from the middle of Lower Al-Tahrir Street to the area, amidst residential neighborhoods whose residents are now exposed daily to the smoke and smells emanating from the waste.

The “Al-Saeed” waste dump in the Asayfira area does not appear to be just a place for collecting garbage, as it has turned into an area where household waste accumulates and fires break out from time to time, while smoke rises towards neighboring houses, in the absence of safe alternatives for disposing of waste.

Abdo Hadi, a resident of the Asayfira neighborhood, told  that he feels extremely distressed by the accumulation of garbage in the stream, stressing that his suffering is no different from that of the rest of the residents, especially those living near the waste collection sites.

 He believes that the accumulation and burning of waste has become a direct threat to the lives of his family and the residents of his neighborhood, as the crisis continues without any solutions to end their suffering. Speaking about the living conditions in the city, Hadi adds, "We are besieged from all sides. There's no gas, no fuel, and a black market."

Abdo's suffering reveals one aspect of the intertwined repercussions of the siege, which is no longer limited to shortages of fuel and basic goods, as it has extended to municipal services, and residents are now facing the consequences of their disruption within their neighborhoods and around their homes.