Abdessalam, 15 years old, was wounded in the head and abdomen by anti-aircraft bullets in Sana’a. "I was in the street with two kids and my elder brother when the anti-aircraft bullets fell back. We didn’t feel it until it came near us and exploded. A fragment hit me here (in the head), and another one in my abdomen." He is being treated at Al-Thawra hospital in Sana'a.
Ongoing airstrikes, fighting, and anti-aircraft ordnance have been killing and wounding civilians for over three months in the capital and across the country. To date, more than 3,083 people have been killed and 14,324 have been injured across the country.
Photo: OCHA / C. Cans, June 2015.
Because of the fuel shortages, most water pumps across the city are no longer working. Tap water has therefore become increasingly rare in Sana’a since March.
The residents of the city can get water in the few public distribution points and humanitarian groups have started trucking in water to some neighbourhoods. Photo: OCHA / P. Kropf, June 2015.
“I come here every few days with my family and my neighbours to fill jerry cans with water. The school closed shortly after the bombings started three months ago and I don't have much else to do,” says Haroon Huraibi (center with hose), a fifth grader from Sana’a. “Filling all the jerry cans usually takes three hours. The days we do not come here, I play volleyball with my friends, but there isn't much else to do.” Photo: OCHA / P. Kropf, June 2015.
“Our neighbourhood gets water only one hour per week,” explains Sultan Mohammad (third man from the right, sitting). He is 35 years old and he lives in Noqum, a neighbourhood in the north of the capital. “We get 10 jerry cans per household which makes 200 litres that need to last three to four days.” Photo: OCHA / P. Kropf, June 2015.
“Every five days we are allowed to fill up our car. The attendants take down the license plates to fight the black market,” explains Mohammed Abdurahman, a 50-year-old businessman from Sana’a (in the vehicle pulling up to the pump). “I have waited for up to four days to get it refilled. I come here with my son and we take turns staying with the car. Life has become very difficult.” Some days, fuel lines can stretch over several kilometers. Photo: OCHA / P. Kropf, June 2015.
"When our customers pull up to the pump they are exhausted from waiting for so long,” explains Khaled, the 22-year-old petrol station attendant. “We work non-stop the whole day to fill as many cars as we can... At least the price per litre here is fixed by the state. On the black market, the price has quadrupled.” Photo: OCHA / P. Kropf, June 2015.
The fuel shortage has also put an end to the regular trash collection in the city. People are forced to throw their trash on the street curbs or into abandoned lots. In some neighbourhoods, people have started to burn the trash. Photo: OCHA / P. Kropf, June 2015.
04 Jul 2015
SUBSCRIBE
