By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2024-01-01

ADEN -- The continued attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis on cargo ships in the Red Sea are exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Yemen through their impact on food supplies and food security in general, experts say.

In mid December the European Union (EU) called on the Houthis to stop their attacks on commercial vessels and to stop threatening Yemen's food security, in light of the dire humanitarian crisis the country is experiencing.

"Attacks on international vessels undermine Yemen's security, including food security, as most of the country's food imports transit through the Red Sea," the statement said.

"Yemen is certainly heavily impacted by what is happening in the Red Sea, as it is the only corridor for the delivery of food supplies to Yemeni ports, be they on the Red Sea or the Arabian Sea," political analyst Fares al-Beel told Al-Fassel.

The food supply chain will be harmed if the Houthis continue their attacks on commercial ships, with support from Iran, he said, adding that other types of imports also will be affected.

Yemen is still suffering from the economic and humanitarian consequences of the ongoing war, which the Houthis initiated with their September 2014 coup, he said, accusing the group of destroying Yemen and its economic capabilities.

"And now Yemen is entering a new crisis and a new cycle of distress, which may be the most difficult yet," he said, referring to the Houthis' targeting of commercial ships and the "uncalculated consequences" of such actions.

Impact on Yemen

The initial consequences of the Houthi attacks are "the increase in transportation fees and insurance charges for ships passing through the Red Sea," said Fahmi al-Zubairi, director general of the human rights office in Sanaa.

"This will compound the suffering of the Yemeni people, because it will cause a direct increase in prices, especially food prices," he told Al-Fassel.

"Yemen is not lacking in pain," he said, pointing out that it has been suffering the consequences of the war, which has devastated the population and created the largest humanitarian tragedy in modern history, per the United Nations.

"The Houthis not only exhausted the Yemeni people with their land war but also demonstrated their corruption at sea with their attacks on commercial vessels," al-Zubairi said.

"Poverty and famine in Yemen will worsen as Houthi attacks on commercial ships continue," economist Abdul Aziz Thabet told Al-Fassel.

As a result, a number of major shipping firms in mid-December announced they are rerouting their vessels away from the Red Sea.

The expansion of these attacks on commercial vessels "may bring maritime traffic in the Red Sea to a complete halt, and this will stop the delivery of food supplies and other imports to Yemen," he cautioned.

International trade route

The Red Sea and its southern gateway, Bab al-Mandeb, are the main route for international trade, especially oil, Thabet said.

"The blockage or disruption of this sea route will adversely affect global trade and cause an increase in prices, as a result of the rise in oil prices," he said.

It also will drive up the cost of shipping because it will cause insurance rates to rise and force vessels to take other, longer routes, he said, adding that these cost increases will be passed along to consumers.

Those new costs push up the prices of commodities that the average Yemeni citizen already cannot afford, Thabet said, noting that Yemenis already have been rocked many times by successive economic shocks.

"More than 24 million people in Yemen require humanitarian assistance, including more than four million displaced people," Thabet said.

Yemen is facing a catastrophic situation at the present time, he said, "particularly with regard to food supplies delivered by sea, especially if the Houthis and Iran continue their attacks on cargo ships."