Stop stealing aid, UN tells rebels

The United Nations food agency is demanding that Houthi rebels in Yemen put an ‘‘immediate end’’ to food aid diversion and hold accountable those responsible for theft, but says it is not clear how much UN aid is actually reaching Yemenis.

Meanwhile, the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Jaber, says at least 60 per cent of the funds sent to the UN by members of the Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthis have yet to be spent on their intended purpose. Obstacles imposed by the Houthis on aid agencies in northern Yemen, such as blocking access to medical programmes, had resulted in the remaining funds being held up, he alleged.

The remarks yesterday come after an Associated Press investigation found that factions and militias on both sides of the conflict in Yemen have blocked food aid from reaching groups suspected of disloyalty, diverting it instead to frontline combat units or selling it on the black market.

‘‘This is an issue that affects not just WFP but all aid agencies working in Yemen, and indeed in war zones everywhere,’’ said Herve Verhoosel, spokesman for the World Food Programme.

The WFP this week threatened to suspend some aid shipments to Yemen if the rebels did not investigate and stop theft and fraud in food distribution.

The Houthis, in turn, accused the WFP of politicising the aid deliveries and sending expired food to Yemen.