With little time to think, thousands of civilians in western Taiz province and southern Hodeidah found themselves facing a choice between staying or leaving after the Houthis carried out raids and arrests in the villages and population centers they entered, amid fears of reprisals and looting targeting residents and their property. Residents recorded distressing scenes of thousands of families fleeing villages and areas in western Taiz and southern Hodeidah. Some fled on foot, while others traveled in cars and on motorcycles, with some taking whatever livestock and belongings they could save. Residents told Asharq Al-Awsat that for many families, displacement was not a planned decision but an urgent escape from fear, leaving behind their homes, land, and livelihoods. Those unable to leave found themselves trapped in a state of panic and anxiety as raids and arrests continued, alongside reports of residents' property being looted and stolen. According to accounts from local residents, areas including Al-Wazi'iyah, Hays, Al-Khokha, Al-Zuhari, Al-Haymah, Yakhtul, and Mokha, as well as the areas stretching along the coast between Al-Haymah and Mokha, have been experiencing turmoil and displacement since the Houthis entered them. The accounts said Houthi fighters carried out raids and arrested a number of residents, while property was also looted and stolen. Other accounts reported that families were being held hostage and pressured to force relatives who were fighters to return and surrender themselves and their weapons. According to the sources, the Houthis have carried out reprisals against residents in Mokha district in Taiz province and the city of Al-Khokha in Hodeidah province, accusing them of supporting the internationally recognized government. Others were targeted based on allegations made by Houthi operatives seeking to settle old scores with some of those targeted in the campaign. The sources said Abdullah Al-Fadhli and Alaa Al-Omaisi, two Houthi security and intelligence officials in the area, are leading part of these campaigns. Fleeing into the Unknown In Al-Wazi'iyah district, residents said thousands of people were displaced as the Houthis entered the district, fleeing what they described as the group's brutality and arrests in difficult humanitarian conditions. Displacement from the district and other areas is still continuing. Abdul Jabbar Ali Hadi, a resident of the area, said the events unfolded suddenly, leaving residents with little time to absorb what was happening. "No one understood what had happened. Within moments, it was as if the whole district had erupted, and everyone wanted to leave," he told Asharq Al-Awsat. Abdul Jabbar described a scene in which fear and chaos became intertwined. While some residents tried to save their children, others attempted to take their livestock with them. Women were crying as everyone searched for a way out. He added that those who could not find a vehicle had to leave on foot, wearing nothing but the clothes they had on. Abdul Jabbar was among those who left the area in search of a safe place, but he was initially unable to take his family with him. He said he reached safety in the clothes he was wearing after his mother insisted on not leaving without her sheep. His mother was forced to walk on foot with her sheep until evening, when she reached the Al-Sabriyah area, where she spent the night. At 10 p.m., Abdul Jabbar took a motorcycle to look for her. After finding her, he returned to his location, and the family continued their journey the following morning. The man described those moments as filled with sorrow, saying the departure left behind "pain, memories, a life, land whose soil we loved, homes, belongings, love and loyalty." Along the way, he saw vehicles carrying displaced families moving without pause, motorcycles, and hundreds of displaced people walking on foot, alongside sheep, cows, camels, and donkeys, in a scene reflecting the scale of the chaos and suffering accompanying the flight. Lost Children and Displaced People Without Shelter After Abdul Jabbar contacted his family, he was told that fuel had become scarce in Al-Wazi'iyah, raising fears about their ability to continue the journey. He was forced to rent a motorcycle from a distant area and send a fuel container to his family. Once it arrived, the family was able to set out on a journey lasting several hours along rough roads before reaching a safe place. The risks accompanying the displacement went beyond the loss of property. Abdul Jabbar recalled that a girl no older than five became separated from her family during the journey. After her disappearance was reported through social media groups, her family spent hours anxiously searching for her before she was reunited with them the following day. The girl's story was one of many manifestations of the fear experienced by families, at a time when keeping family members together and getting them to safety had become a priority above everything else. Abdul Jabbar summed up the experience of displacement in words reflecting the scale of what displaced families lost within a matter of hours. He said they left without money, provisions, or extra clothes, carrying nothing but what he described as "a person's determination, resilience, patience, and dignity." He added that they were prepared to endure anything, even if they had to live under trees. But what hurt him most, he said, was seeing the tears of the elderly and "the humiliation of men." The displacement journey is not simply a move from one place to another. For families forced to leave, it is a sudden uprooting from an entire way of life, including homes, memories, livelihoods, and possessions, and replacing it with an unknown road marked by fear and hardship. Urgent Need As displacement continues, families who have fled their areas remain in urgent need of safety, shelter, food, water, and fuel, as well as protection and the reunification of families separated during their flight, particularly children and elderly people. Against the backdrop of this suffering, the harshest reality is that many civilians did not leave in search of a better life. They left because staying was no longer a safe option. In a related development, local authorities in the interim capital Aden and the provinces of Abyan and Lahj issued a joint statement saying that the armed forces had overcome the state of shock and confusion, regained their balance, and were fully prepared to confront any challenges, amid what they described as popular support and social momentum to confront the Houthis and thwart the ambitions of "Iran's project in the region." The statement said authorities would continue to monitor security and public services, ensure state institutions continued to perform their duties, confront terrorist threats, protect citizens and property, and maintain security and stability in coordination with the relevant government, security, and military authorities. The authorities called on residents to remain calm and vigilant, ignore rumors, obtain information from official sources, cooperate with the relevant authorities, and report any suspicious movements or activities. They pledged to make the security and stability of citizens their highest priority, affirming that they would continue to fulfill their duties and responsibilities to safeguard security in Aden, Abyan, and Lahj and ensure that state institutions continued to carry out their functions.
