Contacts between Cairo, Doha and Washington to extend the “Gaza truce”

The Yemeni government accused the international community of inaction regarding the Houthi group’s terrorism, against the backdrop of the latter’s expulsion of a UN official from Sana’a, in parallel with the group’s plea to the World Food Program not to reduce humanitarian aid.

The UN program announced that it was forced to reduce aid in Yemen. Due to a lack of funding, however, the Houthi group saw this step as an “American conspiracy,” according to what its senior leaders claimed.

The Yemeni Minister of Information, Muammar Al-Eryani, said in an official statement: “The terrorist Houthi militia affiliated with Iran expelled the Vice-President of the High Commission for Human Rights, Safireddine Sayed, from the areas under its control, 3 years after it prevented the entry of the representative of the Commission, Renaud Detal, Appointed in 2020, following her expulsion of former representative Al-Obaid Ahmed, as an extension of her restrictive policy towards United Nations agencies and missions.

The Yemeni minister explained that this incident comes weeks after the so-called Houthi “Security and Intelligence Service” liquidated Hisham Al-Hakimi, an employee of the “Save the Children” organization specializing in child care, under torture, nearly two months after his kidnapping, and 3 months after his kidnapping. Mubarak Al-Anwa, an employee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Yemen, and his forcible disappearance.

Al-Eryani recalled the continued kidnapping by the Houthis of 3 United Nations employees, two of whom have been detained since November 2021, and another since August 2023, in addition to 11 current and former local employees of the US Embassy and the US Agency for Development, two years ago. They were forcibly disappeared in mysterious circumstances, without bringing any charges against them, or allowing them to meet their families, in flagrant violation of international laws and conventions.

The Yemeni Minister of Information described the Houthis’ actions as “terrorist,” and said that they were a direct result of the failure of the international community, the United Nations, and its affiliated organizations to carry out their duties, their leniency in dealing with the group “and their pampering, and their continued turning a blind eye to the horrific crimes and violations they committed against the Yemenis, which pushed them to persist.” more”.

Al-Eryani called on the international community, the United Nations, its special envoy to Yemen, and human rights organizations to leave what he described as the “box of silence,” issue a clear condemnation of these criminal practices, and exert real pressure on the Houthi militia. To reveal the fate of all those forcibly disappeared in its detention centers, and to release them immediately.

Houthi pleaded

The Houthi group saw the reduction of UN aid in areas under its control as a hostile act, and its leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, accused the United States of being behind this step, while his cousin Muhammad Ali al-Houthi, in a letter he addressed to the UN programme, begged to continue providing aid.

Al-Houthi addressed his letter to the former Executive Director of the Food Programme, David Beasley, indicating that he was unaware that the latter had left his position last April.

Al-Houthi claimed that the decision to reduce humanitarian aid would exacerbate the humanitarian crisis and increase the suffering of millions of Yemenis, suggesting that the program deliver aid in cash and save operational expenses.

Al-Houthi called on the World Food Program to ask donor countries to increase funding, which will allow the provision of humanitarian aid to Yemen without the need to reduce or stop it. According to his claim.

The cousin of the leader of the Houthi group described reducing UN aid from the program as “behavior that conflicts with his moral and humanitarian duties, and amounts to a crime against humanity.”

The Houthi group is accused of harnessing large amounts of aid and assistance for the benefit of its followers and those loyal to it. It is also accused of harnessing another portion for the benefit of the war effort, in addition to selling other quantities. These are accusations that were previously confirmed by local and international reports.

Al-Houthi stressed taking the necessary measures to ensure the continued provision of humanitarian aid to deserving Yemenis without interruption or reduction, claiming that this would confirm that the World Food Program was not dependent on America, which he claimed had worked to stop and reduce aid.

The World Food Program reported, in a previous statement, that it is facing a severe funding crisis for its humanitarian operations in Yemen, and that this will necessitate a further reduction in food aid, starting at the end of last September.

He expected that, if new funding was not obtained, approximately 3 million people would be affected in the areas under the control of the Houthis, and about 1.4 million people in the areas under the control of the legitimate government.

For its part, the Yemeni government, through its president, Maeen Abdul-Malik, called for ending the “Safer” tank file in its second phase, during Abdul-Malik’s reception in Aden of the United Nations Resident Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, David Gresley, on the occasion of the end of his term.

Abdul Malik stressed the necessity of completing the international plan to get rid of the crude oil stored in the replacement ship, and closing the transportation line after it was separated from the “Safer” tank. He also stressed the keenness to support the efforts of the United Nations, provide all facilities for the movement of its employees and improve their access to those in need.

The Yemeni Prime Minister stressed “the need for the United Nations and the international community to take a strong stance to protect relief mechanisms and humanitarian workers in the areas of the terrorist Houthi militia.”

He expressed his hope that the partnership dialogues that will be launched during the next two days in Aden between the government and United Nations officials will strengthen the partnership’s orientation in development and the balance between relief and humanitarian work, within the framework of preparing for the humanitarian response plan.