UN Experts Team in Yemen: Houthi Militia Steals Humanitarian Aid

UN experts team in Yemen said that threats and incidents against humanitarian workers are increasing in areas controlled by Houthi militias.

In its annual report to the Security Council, the team confirmed that it had received information about the arrest and intimidation of humanitarian workers by the Houthis, in addition to illegal acquisition of personal property of humanitarian workers and humanitarian aid of organizations in Sanaa.

Some humanitarian activists have informed the team that they have been denied access to certain areas or have refused to obtain travel permission because they have turned down requests to exchange information with the Houthis about the beneficiaries or personal information about their national staff.

Earlier, Reuters reported that the largest humanitarian aid operation in the world will be cut next month in the Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, because donors and aid workers say they "can no longer guarantee the delivery of food to the millions of people who need it."

“We don’t go to an area and just give assistance; we do an assessment to know who needs that aid, and we are blocked from doing that. We also have to monitor the work that we do, and this is blocked, too. And if we can’t assess and if we can’t monitor, then we can’t manage the risks of operating in areas like northern Yemen,” Lise Grande, U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, told Voice Of America.

On the other hand, the Yemeni National Army shot down a Houthi "Drone" aircraft in Al-Safra district of Saada governorate, north, which turned out to be an Iranian made weapon.

"The ground defenses of the National Army forces monitored a drone attempting to attack the sites where the national army forces are stationed," Yemeni News Agency quoted Brigadier General Mohamed Al-Ghunaimi.

"After collecting its parts, it turned out to be an Iranian made weapon."

Earlier, a report by United Nations experts assigned to monitor the arms embargo imposed on Yemen since 2015, stated that in 2019, the Houthi militia acquired new weapons, some of which have characteristics similar to those produced in Iran.