Between the mountains, bulldozers paid by residents and associations are working to build a new road to link Taez, a city besieged by the Houthi rebels, to Aden, the provisional capital of the Yemeni government.
A single other road, named Hayjat al-Abd, connects Taez, in southwest Yemen, to the rest of the country without passing through rebel-controlled areas.
On the side of cliffs and punctuated by hairpin bends or potholes, it is known to be perilous and often narrow. Coup de grace: torrential rains recently resulted in landslides and rockfalls, virtually blocking all traffic.
The new road is to start from the district of Al-Shamaïtine in Taëz and pass through the region of Lahj before reaching Al-Bariqa in Aden, located some 140 kilometers as the crow flies.
This project, named Zreikat al-Sham, was born six months ago from a local initiative and depends on donations from businessmen and citizens. Officials say the road is expected to be largely functional in the coming weeks.
For sheikh Abdullah al-Mohammadi, general coordinator, the new road is "extremely important" because it "will relieve a lot of suffering for citizens" in this country which is experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world according to the UN.
The rebels control all the other ways leading to Taëz, city in the hands of the government which however struggles to establish its power there. Besieged by the Houthis since 2015, the city surrounded by mountains and inhabited by around 600.000 people has been bombarded by insurgents many times since the start of the war.
The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives, according to humanitarian organizations, and displaced millions. According to the World Food Program, around 50.000 people are already affected by famine and more than five million are close to it. Some 80% of Yemenis also depend on international aid.
"Without state aid"
Triggered in 2014 by the capture of Sana'a by the Houthi rebels, the war pits the forces loyal to power - backed by Saudi Arabia - against the rebels - backed by Iran - who control most of the northern part of the country. country, including the capital Sana'a.
In addition to being besieged by the Houthis, Taez is torn within itself between rival groups, some of which belong to the Islamist Al-Islah party, affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, or to Salafist groups.
In the rest of the province that escapes the Houthis, the government camp is undermined by internal divisions and the governor, Nabil Chamsane, has little power.
"We are building this road in times of war. We are building it without state aid," a technical manager of the project, engineer Wael al-Maamari, told AFP.
"With the exception of a small contribution, this road is financed by charities, businessmen and other actors of civil society," he adds.
This new artery will be "strategic and vital (...) It is the optimal road in terms of length - 182 kilometers - and geographical location", specifies the engineer.
Building such a wide road - 14 meters according to the project coordinator - is a feat in this country which is sorely lacking in construction materials and whose equipment and infrastructure are in decline.
But there is still a long way to go and funding is lacking.
"We call on all philanthropists, foundations and local, regional and international organizations to provide generous assistance in order to finish the road cleanly," says general coordinator Abdullah al-Mohammadi.
