UAE sends aid to liberated areas of Hodeidah
The Emirates Red Crescent sent an aid convoy with 10,000 food baskets from Yemen’s city of Aden to areas in Hodeidah province that had been liberated from the Houthi rebels.
The convoy, which has other essential supplies, will help 70,000 civilians in the port city, the state news agency Wam reported yesterday.
The latest Red Crescent aid is part of the UAE’s efforts to help ease the suffering of the Yemeni people, Wam said, adding that the charity will send more convoys to the areas that are no longer under Houthi control.
On Friday, the UAE said it was sending 10 ships and three aircraft carrying aid to Hodeidah under the instructions of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
The aid corridor will allow the UAE vessels to carry 13,500 tonnes of food and three flights carrying 10,436 food parcels.
“The first aid ship will carry 500 tonnes of rice and flour, while the second ship will deliver 1,000 tonnes of various foodstuffs,” Wam reported.
“Four other vessels will provide 3,000 tonnes of foodstuffs each.”
UAE aid to Yemen between April 2015 and last month reached Dh13.85 billion. The UAE has also pledged Dh1.83bn to support the UN Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen this year, of which it has so far committed 93 per cent of the pledged amount.
More than 22 million people in Yemen are in need of aid, with 8.4 million of them on the brink of starvation, the UN said. The insurgency has left almost 10,000 people dead in the Arab world’s poorest country.