Houthi rebels block half UN aid delivery programmes for Yemen, officials say

YEMEN’S Houthi rebels have blocked half of the United Nations’ aid delivery programmes in the war-torn country, according to aid officials and internal documents.

The rebel group has made granting access to areas under their control contingent on a flurry of conditions that aid agencies reject, in part because it would give the Houthis greater sway over who receives aid, documents and interviews show.

The Houthis’ obstruction has hindered several programmes that feed the near-starving population and help those displaced by the nearly six-year civil war, a senior UN official said.

“Over two million beneficiaries ... are directly affected,” he added.

The Houthis have been pushing back against UN efforts to tighten monitoring of some 370 million dollars (£285 million) a year that its agencies already give to government institutions controlled mostly by the rebel group, documents show.

That money is supposed to pay salaries and other administration costs, but more than a third of the money spent last year was not audited, according to a document leaked to the Associated Press (AP).

The UN has largely kept quiet in public about the pressure, but behind the scenes the agency and international donors are digging in against the Houthi demands.

The AP spoke to seven workers and officials from UN and independent agencies about the situation, and also saw dozens of documents, including emails of aid officials.

In October, the UN humanitarian co-ordinator for Yemen, Lise Grande, sent a letter to the Houthiappointed prime minister complaining about a long list of demands.

The “overwhelming majority” of them impede or delay delivery of aid and many violate humanitarian principles, she said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the AP.

For months, the Houthis demanded a 2 per cent cut from the entire aid budget be given to them, a condition the UN and donors rejected.

In an email to the AP, a spokesman for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) said Houthi attempts “to implement a tax on humanitarian assistance are unacceptable and directly contradict international humanitarian principles”.

The United States donated 686 million dollars (£528 million) to Yemen in 2019, according to USAID.

Last week, the Houthis appeared to back off the 2% demand, but continue to press for other concessions, according to aid officials.

During a meeting in Brussels last Thursday, aid agencies and international donors threatened to reduce aid if Houthis continue to impose restrictions on UN operations in Yemen.

The situation “has reached a breaking point”, they said in a statement.