Ahmad Al Qubati is Islamic Relief's Project Coordinator in Saa'da, northern Yemen. Increasingly intense conflict between the government and rebels has displaced around 119,000 people in the north of Yemen, killing and injuring hundreds. Information from the region is sparse as most communication lines are down and roads into Saa'da are blocked.

Ahmad was in Saa'da when the conflict started. He was unable to leave and had little contact with people outside the region, but has just returned to the capital city of Sana'a where he sent this report about the deteriorating situation in the north.

The war started on Tuesday 11 August at 4pm just a few hours after I had returned to Saa'da. I was due to start distributing food to people who had been displaced by earlier violence as part of our monthly distributions with the U.N. World Food Programme, but then the firing and the shelling started.

In the first few days of the war our office shook with the force of the bombing. There was continuous shelling and I could hear missiles and see tanks all around the city. The explosions continued all day, but seemed to intensify each night.

At first I was afraid and anxious, but it is surprising how quickly you become accustomed to these sounds. On the second day of the fighting my team and I started to discuss how we could continue to work under these conditions, how we could distribute food to those that needed it while also ensuring the safety of our staff. Unfortunately as the situation rapidly deteriorated we were paralysed to be able to do anything. Although we had food available, the ongoing and intensive fighting and the evacuation of most staff meant that we were only able to carry out limited distributions.

Many civilians were hurt in the conflict and some had to be taken by military plane to Sana'a for treatment. During the second week of fighting the army cordoned off parts of the city and ordered residents to leave the old town ahead of intensive bombing, which forced many people to flee their homes.

In the old town and on the outskirts of the city many houses were damaged by the missiles and two of Islamic Relief's staff members in Saa'da were forced to leave their homes. One had to flee with her family when the house next door was destroyed by shellfire.

It has been very difficult to get an accurate number of those who have been displaced, but it is estimated to be around 119,000 people. Certainly I have seen a great many people on the move outside of Saa'da town. Some people have been trying to get into the city but they have been prevented because it is not safe for them, so most people have fled to safer districts close to the Saudi Arabian border or have settled in the valleys.

The displaced people are not immune from the violence and some have had to flee the camps where they first settled because of continued fighting. The people who have settled in the valleys desperately need proper shelter, food and clean water. The lack of sanitation facilities and water is creating a health crisis amongst the displaced people and there have been reported outbreaks of diarrhoea, malaria and respiratory infections.

Before I left, Saa'da town was almost empty; people had either fled or were staying inside their homes. The roads into Saa'da are blocked so food cannot get in and there are now food shortages. The scarcity has also caused the price of basic items such as wheat and pulses to rapidly increase. Most shops have closed but those who still have goods to sell have increased prices by around 300 per cent.

The electricity only comes on for a few hours once every three days and there is only an intermittent supply of water. Some people have been forced to buy water, but it is often dirty and at 5,000 riyals (approximately US$25) per tanker is too expensive for most people to afford.

Communication lines such as mobile phones and the internet have been cut, which meant that while I was in Saa'da it was almost impossible to communicate with our head office in Sana'a and with other NGOs. However, we managed to set up a hotline to be able to communicate with other NGOs and U.N. agencies within the town and to develop a plan to meet the growing needs of the displaced people.

It was incredibly frustrating and upsetting not to be able to help those who needed it, but without a safe humanitarian corridor it was simply too dangerous for our staff to go out and distribute aid. The Islamic Relief staff who are still in Saa'da are now waiting for some stability in the area to be able to resume the distributions that people desperately need.

Myself and another staff member finally managed to leave Saa'da a couple of days ago by travelling through the neighbouring al-Jawf governorate and across a vast expanse of valleys and desert, and then onto Sana'a. I am glad to be back but am ready to return and to help those in Saa'da and those who have been displaced as soon as it is safe enough to do so.

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