UN says Yemen on edge of famine from war, blocked ports
Head of World Food Program says that deliveries are being made, but fighting around major ports stalls distribution
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CAIRO — The United Nations says the war in Yemen has pushed the country to the brink of famine, with both commercial food imports and aid deliveries held up by the fighting and millions of hungry women and children facing possible starvation.
Ertharin Cousin, head of the UN’s World Food Program, says that while some deliveries are being made, fighting around the major ports is stalling distribution, and reaching the country’s interior is proving difficult.
Yemen’s conflict pits Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, along with troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh against southern separatists, local and tribal militias, Sunni Islamic militants and troops loyal to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who is in exile in Saudi Arabia.
The Houthi rebels are said to be backed by Iran.
The Saudis are leading a US-backed Arab coalition carrying out airstrikes against Houthi forces. Some 1,500 people have been killed in the Saudi campaign, which began in March, 2015.
On Wednesday, the website Middle East Eye carried a report saying Houthi rebels succeeded in entering Saudi Arabia from the south and were within striking distance of a city with 1.6 million people.
The report showed footage from a Yemeni television channel affiliated with the Houthis reportedly showing the rebels inside Saudi Arabia.
The TV station Al Masirah aired a video report with Houthis saying they were less than two kilometers from Najran, a Saudi city near the border with Yemen.
— Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.