UN voices concern over decline in Yemen imports amid Saudi restrictions
The United Nations aid chief has expressed concern over the decline of food imports to Yemen amid restrictions put in place by the Saudi regime, warning that a further 10 million Yemenis could be at risk of starvation by the year’s end.
The United Nations aid chief has expressed concern over the decline of food imports to Yemen amid restrictions put in place by the Saudi regime, warning that a further 10 million Yemenis could be at risk of starvation by the year’s end.
“I am particularly concerned about the recent decline of commercial food imports through the Red Sea ports,” said Mark Lowcock, the UN emergency relief coordinator, in a statement read out to a Geneva briefing on Friday.
After three years of a Saudi-led campaign against Yemen, the United Nations says a record 22.2 million Yemenis are in need of food aid, including 8.4 million threatened by severe hunger.
On November 6, Saudi Arabia announced that it was shutting down Yemen’s air, sea, and land borders, after Yemeni fighters targeted an international airport near the Saudi capital with a cruise missile in retaliation for the devastating campaign. The blockade has had a severe impact on Yemen, which traditionally imports 90 percent of its food.
