Feature: Bitter cold, tattered tents -- displaced Yemenis brace for harsher winter

As a sharp winter chill descends on Yemen's rugged highlands and barren plains, displaced families are steeling themselves for another season of suffering inside flimsy tents that offer little refuge from the biting winds, Xinhua reported.

In makeshift camps scattered across the war-torn country, the cold seeps through torn tarpaulins and worn-out blankets. Nights grow long and cruel -- hunger gnaws, the chill deepens, and sleep becomes only a brief respite before another day of hardship dawns.

Most of Yemen's displaced live in crumbling shelters that fail to keep out the plummeting temperatures. Among them is Mohamed Naji, who fled his home in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.

"The wind pierces through the tents. Children and the elderly suffer the most," Mohamed said, adding that some of his relatives, displaced farther north, can hardly touch the freezing water to wash or drink. "The cold brings sickness. It spreads through the camps like an unseen storm. And help rarely comes to us."

Humanitarian assistance, he noted, often focuses on camps near urban centers, leaving remote settlements isolated and overlooked.

Since the conflict first erupted in late 2014, when the Houthi group seized the capital Sanaa, Yemen has endured one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises. The fighting has uprooted millions, driving families from one temporary shelter to another as frontlines shift and violence reignites.

According to the UN, more than 4 million Yemenis remain internally displaced, many having fled multiple times. Each new outbreak of fighting sent another wave of desperate people into overcrowded camps where resources are stretched ever thinner.

Last month, the Executive Unit for the Management of Displacement Camps in Yemen reported that more than 3.1 million displaced persons currently reside in areas controlled by Yemen's internationally recognized government. The agency warned that displaced families continue to suffer severe shortages of food, medicine, shelter, and protection due to the absence of sustainable aid projects, leaving them trapped in a cycle of dependency and deprivation.

Over the years, international humanitarian funding for Yemen has waned. Shortfalls have forced aid agencies to cut food rations, suspend health programs, and reduce water and sanitation services -- vital lifelines for those enduring displacement.

On the outskirts of Aden, in a desolate camp where tents shudder in the desert wind, Um Ahmed struggled to keep her family warm and fed. "Our lives are getting worse every day," she said softly. "In recent weeks, things have become unbearable. There's no cooking gas, no flour -- nothing to protect us from the winter cold. I don't know how much longer we can endure this."

A few tents away, Aisha Khaled sat outside her frayed shelter, watching the sunset as temperatures began to drop. In previous winters, she said, she spent most nights awake, listening to her children cry as they huddled under thin, worn blankets. "We live a very difficult life here," she said. "Each winter feels harder than the last, and this year may be even harsher."

Local aid workers warned that unless assistance is urgently increased, more lives will be lost to exposure, hunger, and diseases.

The Yemen Shelter Cluster -- a UN-led coordination body co-managed by the UNHCR and IOM -- launched an appeal last week for 7.5 million U.S. dollars to provide winter assistance to vulnerable families as temperatures in the highlands are expected to drop below 10 degrees Celsius between October 2025 and February 2026.

The initiative aims to protect about 217,000 people, including the displaced, returnees, and host communities, from harsh winter conditions.

However, the Cluster reported that only 5 percent of the required funds have been secured, leaving a 95-percent funding gap. Without urgent contributions, thousands of families will remain without adequate shelter or supplies.

Compounding the suffering caused by war and displacement, growing tensions between the Houthi group and UN agencies have further complicated the delivery of humanitarian aid across Yemen.

Humanitarian workers said strained relations have made it increasingly difficult to reach vulnerable communities. Local aid officials complained that both international and local organizations have failed to respond effectively to repeated appeals for assistance, leaving many displaced families without essential winter supplies.

Relations between the UN and the Houthi group have deteriorated sharply in recent months. The group has stepped up pressure on international agencies in Sanaa and other areas, accusing their staff of "espionage activities for hostile states." These allegations have raised fears that the humanitarian situation could worsen in a country already exhausted by more than a decade of war.

In recent weeks, Houthi forces have raided several UN offices in Sanaa and detained a number of aid workers. According to UN estimates, 59 Yemeni staff members working for UN agencies remain in detention, some since 2021 -- a situation that has alarmed humanitarian organizations and further disrupted aid operations in the country.

Health experts also warned of rising cases of cholera and other waterborne diseases in displacement camps, where sanitation systems have collapsed and clean water is scarce. With winter approaching, weakened immunity and limited medical care could fuel new outbreaks.

"Diseases spread easily here," said Mushtag Hamid, a doctor working in displacement camps near Aden. "We see dengue fever, respiratory infections, and winter illnesses. There's no medicine, and it's so hard to control the situation."