Aid is to be allowed into Yemen after a blockade lasting more than two weeks
ADVERTISEMENTThe Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen is to allow aid deliveries to the rebel-held port of Hodeidah and Sanaa airport.
It follows a blockade of the country lasting more than two weeks which the UN had warned could spark “the largest famine the world has ever seen”.
Food aid and other humanitarian relief is expected to begin arriving during the next 24-hours Yemen normally receives 80 percent of its food imports through Hodeidah.
UN Humanitarian coordinator in Yemen Jamie McGoldrick explained just how bad the situation is in Yemen:
“We have just had a cholera outbreak just now of over 900,000 people and at the same time, we’ve got 7 million people under the threat of famine. Those people live in a very precarious situation…
…there are 21 million people out of 27 (million) who are really struggling to maintain a normal life. They rely on outside help, and there is 7 million who rely on us for food, another 4 million who rely on us to deliver water.”
Children didn’t cause the conflict in #Yemen.
But they are the first to suffer.#ChildrenUnderAttack#LetAidInpic.twitter.com/gerdPdrq91— UNICEF (@UNICEF) November 22, 2017
The Saudi-led coalition had closed air, land and sea access to Yemen on November 6, to stop the flow of arms to Iran-backed Houthi rebels. It began two days after a ballistic missile fired from Houthi-held territory was intercepted over Riyadh’s main airport. Iran has denies supplying the Houthis with weapons.