YEMEN AID LOST TO HOUTHI REBELS IN CONTROL OF PORTS

Food and medicine arriving at Hodeidah, Saleef and Sanaa is being sold on black market or given to militia

United Nations aid, including medicine and food, arriving at rebel-controlled ports in Yemen is being sold on the black market or provided to militia on the battlefield, The National has learnt.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen eased restrictions at the main airport in the capital Sanaa and the two key ports of Hodeidah and Saleef, after a three-week freeze on operations after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels fired a missile at the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Both Hodeidah and Sanaa are controlled by Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran.

The coalition is fighting in support of Yemeni troops loyal to the internationally recognised government of president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.

About 8 million people are on the brink of famine with outbreaks of cholera and diphtheria. After the temporary freeze on berthing was lifted, vessels docked last week and at least three flights arrived at and left from Sanaa airport.

The White House last week twice warned of a backlash in congress if shipments were not speeded up. On Friday it called on the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi militia to ease the free flow of humanitarian aid and critical goods, such as fuel.

“I think there has just been mounting concern over the continued humanitarian conditions in Yemen and while we have seen progress, we haven’t seen enough,” said a senior Trump administration official. “We want to see more in the coming weeks.”

Jamie McGoldrick, the UN human affairs co-ordinator in Yemen, yesterday said that 15 ships carrying food and fuel supplies were waiting to dock at Hodeidah and Saleef.

The aid carried on UN aircraft, which includes cholera and diphtheria vaccines, was delivered by the World Food Programme and Unicef to the ministry of public health. Questions over the security of distribution efforts have been acknowledged by UN officials.

“We are facing a lot of obstacles here, but we try with all our efforts to carry on our humanitarian missions,” said Zied Al Alaya, of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Sanaa.

Effective control of the ministry of planning and international co-operation in the capital lies with the central Houthi authority rather than the ministry officials, a source in Sanaa said. It is a weakness that is increasingly widespread.

“The last aid supplies were delivered to the ministry of the public health, but the ministry is Al Houthi-affiliated, so aid supply ends in the hands of the Houthis,” the source said.

The rebels also take advantage of corruption among the UN’s local partners. “Laila”, a human rights lawyer working in Sanaa, said aid was diverted when it was given to local organisations for distribution.

“We discovered that the UN aid goes to the black markets, especially in the northern provinces,” Laila said. “In Ammran province we found the aid provided for the girls’ education support programme was sold in the markets in big quantities, and we reported that to the UN.”

But a spokeswoman for the UN’s agency that delivers food to the country dismissed concerns about distribution.

“I have not heard that,” said Abeer Etefa, a spokeswoman for the food programme in Cairo. “All the WFP is being distributed to the people who are on the edge of starvation.

“The food is being monitored by our programme colleagues, and definitely going to the people who need it the most. The amount being sold on the black market is very minimal.”

Ms Etefa said the complaints about lack of access were out of date and that a total of three ships had moved to dock.

“Nothing is holding up the supplies. It’s just that it’s taking a bit of time to get the clearances,” she said. “I think we’ve had three ships getting in since the blockade was lifted.

“The first to get in went to Al Saleef. It was carrying 25,000 tonnes of wheat, which is enough for 1.8 million people for one month. The second went to Hodeidah, which was carrying medical supplies on behalf of WHO and Unicef, and the third is carrying wheat and is about to berth in Hodeidah.

“I believe there are issues around the clearances for ships carrying fuel, that’s the one element that’s still a bit delayed.”

Adel Al Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, has said the UN inspection mechanism must be upgraded. It has only processed a handful of vessels.