Houthis seize over 300 aid containers in Yemen

By Gulsen Topcu

ADEN, Yemen (AA) - Yemen’s Houthi rebels have seized 326 humanitarian aid containers of the World Food Programme (WFP), accusing the organization of sending expired food and medicine.

After examining the containers, the authorities discovered that the products had expired, the Houthi-affiliated al-Mesira.net reported, quoting Jabir ar-Razihi, head of the Hudaydah Governorship Humanitarian Aid Management and Coordination Board.

It noted that the products were seized to inform the WFP about sending them back and added that the supplies included cooking oil, medicines for chronic diseases, food supplements for children, green peas and biscuits.

In the report, the WFP was accused of deliberately passing this food and medicine aid through ports controlled by Saudi Arabia-led coalition forces and sending it to Hudaydah Port only after their shelf life expired.

The organization has not commented on the issue so far.

Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital, Sana’a. The crisis escalated in 2015 when the Saudi-led coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.

More than 100,000 Yemenis, including civilians, are believed to have been killed in the conflict, which has led to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with millions at risk of starvation.

*Writing by Sena Guler