SAUDI ARABIA DEPOSITS $1B INTO YEMEN CENTRAL BANK

Saudi Arabia deposited $1 billion into the central bank of Yemen’s internationally recognized government Tuesday in a bid to bolster the country’s ailing economy, state media said.

In a brief statement, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said the $1 billion deposited into the Aden-based central bank will help the Riyadhbacked administration implement economic reforms.

Yemen’s ruinous civil war, now entering its ninth year, has wrecked the country’s economy and pushed half of the population to the brink of famine. More than 150,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

The war began in 2014 when Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized Yemen’s capital Sanaa, along with much of the north of the country, forcing the government into exile. A Saudi coalition, including the United Arab Emirates, intervened the next year to try to restore the internationally recognized government. The country’s central bank has since been divided between the warring sides, with the Houthis operating its monetary authority from Sanaa

Rashad al-Alimi, head of the internationally recognized presidential council, thanked the Saudi government for Tuesday’s economic aid in a series of posts on Twitter. Al-Alimi said the money would go toward funding new projects and stabilizing the currency. No further details were given.

Two officials from the internationally recognized government told The Associated Press that the $1 billion aid package will help compensate for the sharp decline in oil revenues in recent months. Oil exports have slowed drastically following several Houthi drone attacks on tankers and other facilities late last year.