Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure (a) roads through Taiz and Ad-Dhale remain open to humanitarian supplies and (b) humanitarian convoys in that area are protected.

We are concerned about the deterioration of humanitarian access in Taiz and Ad-Dhale, following the recent escalation of fighting. We are closely engaging with the UN’s Humanitarian Co-ordinator and organisations delivering humanitarian assistance to establish the severity of the operating conditions they are facing.

The UK continues to call on all parties to the conflict to comply with UN Security Resolution 2451 to facilitate safe, rapid, and unhindered access for humanitarian actors. We are clear that there can be no military solution to this conflict. A political settlement is the only way to provide long term stability to Yemen and address the worsening humanitarian crisis. We encourage further constructive engagement from both parties to achieve this.