Yemen: Al Jawf and Marib Flash Update No.1 | 3 March 2020
SITUATION OVERVIEW
Intense clashes broke out in Al Hazm City, Al Jawf Governorate, on 1 March causing massive displacement of civilians. Heavy fighting, including artillery shelling, was reportedly ongoing by late afternoon on 2 March, mainly in the outskirts of Al Hazm District. Airstrikes have also been reported in various districts in Al Jawf. Initial field reports indicate massive displacement from Al Hazm District, which has been hosting thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Marib and other districts of Al Jawf Governorate to Marib Governorate.
HUMANITARIAN IMPACT AND NEEDS
As of 2 March, the overall civilian casualty figures and number of displaced persons was unclear due to continued fighting in the affected. However, an estimated 1,800 families reportedly fled heavily populated districts of AlGhayl and Al-Hazm districts in Al Jawf as fighting escalated in these areas on 1 March. Executive Unit for IDPs in Marib reported that 2,100 displaced families reached Marib on 1 March and are hosted by local communities in Marib City and Alwadi District. Local civil society leaders informed OCHA of several IDP families stranded in Al Rwaik desert on their way to Marib. In Al Khalq district of Al Jawf, 650 families are reportedly displaced, and assistance is ongoing despite extreme difficulties due to the volatile security situation. IDP Executive Units of Al Jawf and Marib reported that displaced families will be hosted in Al Mil IDP site, due to lack of capacity to host within Marib City, security concerns as well as challenges to track IDPs if they scatter across the whole governorate. Al Mil site has a hosting capacity of 1,440 households, but local authorities indicated that it can be expanded further to accommodate more displaced people.
HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE
OCHA convened coordination meetings with partners and Executive Unit representatives on 2 March to ensure a coordinated approach to the response operation. Humanitarian partners are stepping up response in areas where IDPs are accessible. Rapid Response Mechanisms (RRM) have been activated and are ready to provide life-saving assistance to newly displaced households. This includes ready-to-eat food supplies provided by WFP, hygiene kits provided by UNICEF and women transit kits provided by UNFPA. A reception center was established in Marib City to register and support new IDPs with RRM kits. UNFPA has 300 RRM kits pre-positioned in Marib City and are ready to deploy. Additional quantities are being transported with support from OCHA. Some 1,500 RRM kits are expected to arrive in Marib shortly, while some 5,000 kits will be dispatched from Aden. About 170 tents are available in Marib, another 100 tents will immediately be dispatched to affected areas. Some 4,000 emergency shelter kits and about 3,500 non-food items (NFI) are expected to arrive in Marib shortly. More shelter and NFI supplies will be allocated, as part of the country-wide contingency stocks, funded by the Yemen Humanitarian Fund. UNFPA mobile protection and reproductive health teams have also been deployed to provide critical maternal health services, psychological first aid and transit kits, identifying most vulnerable women and girls, and referring them to relevant services.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-al-jawf-and-marib-flash-update-no1-3-march-2020