Turkish NGO distributes food aid in war-torn Yemen

By Afra Aksoy

ADEN, Yemen (AA) - Turkey’s Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) said Sunday that it sent 1,250 packages of food as part of an aid program to the war-torn country of Yemen.

An IHH official Umut Bilgin told Anadolu Agency that they would deliver foods to 4,724 displaced Yemeni families till April 3.

He said that the foundation transferred the packages to the local authorities in Sana'a, Zamar, Ibb, Dhale and Aden. He also stressed that IHH was planning to send health and education related aid materials.

Yemen has remained in a state of civil war since 2014, when the Shia Houthi militia group and allied forces of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh overran the capital Sanaa and other parts of the country.

The conflict escalated a year later when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a major air campaign aimed at reversing Houthi gains and shoring up Yemen’s pro-Saudi government.

According to the UN, 11.3 percent of Yemen’s population has been forcibly displaced by the conflict.