UN demands aid access to besieged Yemen city Taiz

The United Nations insisted on Tuesday that aid must immediately be allowed to enter Yemen's Taiz, besieged by Iran-aligned Houthi fighters who are preventing supplies from reaching the country's third-largest city.

Houthi fighters have encircled Taiz since early October, blocking the road that links it to Aden, interim capital of the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government.

"Humanitarian aid must be immediately allowed to enter the city and its passage must be facilitated," UN human rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.

He said relief must reach the city to avert a rights catastrophe.

"The Houthis' closure of the only supply route linking Taiz to Aden is placing civilians at grave risk, blocking humanitarian aid and cutting off essential supplies," said Turk.