Head of the UN food agency accuses Yemen's Houthi rebels of diverting food from the war-torn country's hungriest people
Up to 60 percent of beneficiaries at seven centres in Sanaa"confirmed they had not received any assistance" and 33 percent of respondents in the rebels' northern stronghold of Saada received no food in April, says head of the UN food agency.
David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Program, told the UN Security Council that the agency in late 2018 uncovered "serious evidence that food was being diverted and going to the wrong people" in the capital of Sanaa and other Houthi-controlled areas. The Associated Press reported Dec. 31 that armed factions on both sides of the conflict were stealing much-needed food aid, diverting it to their fighters or reselling it for profit. Some groups are blocking deliveries to communities they view as their enemies, AP found. WFP confirmed the report.
The conflict in Yemen began with the 2014 takeover of Sanaa by the Iranian-backed Houthis, who toppled the government of Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi. A Saudi-led coalition allied with Yemen's internationally recognised government has been fighting the Houthis since 2015. "Yemen is getting more violent, not less," he said, noting that "today there are more than 30 active front lines" in the country.
Griffiths repeated his warning that "war can take peace off the table, and in the context of wider regional tensions, the risks to the political process have never looked more stark."
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