By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2024-03-17

ADEN -- The Iran-backed Houthis' attacks in the Red Sea have disrupted the distribution of humanitarian food aid in Yemen, officials and international organizations that operate in Yemen said.

The World Food Program (WFP) is facing difficulties with the implementation of its programs as a result of the Houthis' attacks on international shipping, said Shingirayi Chimbwanda, director of the WFP office on the west coast of Yemen.

The Red Sea crisis has caused a shortage in aid and has delayed the timely arrival of aid, Chimbwanda said during a February 28 meeting with Mokha district director general Sultan Mahmoud.

The Red Sea port of Mokha is in Taez province, Yemen.

During the meeting, the two discussed the WFP's plans, projects and humanitarian interventions in the areas of nutrition support and school meals and the impact of the Houthis' Red Sea attacks on the organization's operations.

On the day of the meeting, food aid was distributed to 5,000 families, 15 health centers and 26,611 male and female students in 57 schools, after a delay of two months as a result of the Red Sea attacks, Chimbwanda said.

Mahmoud praised the WFP for its support, which he said contributed significantly to alleviating the suffering on Yemen's Red Sea coast, where many displaced by the war set in motion by the Houthis' coup of 2014 have sought refuge.

In a March 7 statement, Yemeni National Resistance west coast spokesman Brig. Gen. Sadiq Dawid condemned the Houthis' attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea and their civilian crews.

These attacks are harming Yemen and Yemenis, he said, as well as polluting the marine environment and cutting off the livelihood of fishermen.

Yemenis await food aid

Beneficiaries of the food program in Houthi-controlled areas are still waiting for the aid that used to be disbursed every three months, among them al-Hodeidah resident Hilal Abdo and his family.

"We are hungry," said Abdo, demanding an end to the Houthis' Red Sea attacks. "We have no means of livelihood other than a motorcycle, which provides very little income."

The food basket he used to receive every three months contained flour, oil and beans, and was key to his continued ability to cope, he added.

Sanaa resident Yasmine Mohsen, who was displaced from al-Hodeidah, complained about the difficult living situation she has endured since the aid from the food program was suspended last October.

The mother of three said she does part-time housework for some well-off families to bring in some money.

"The food basket used to solve the problem of providing basic needs, while I used what I earned from housework to pay the rent and cover some other needs for my children," she said.

If the food aid is suspended, she said, she cannot feed them.

Rising food insecurity

The Houthis' attacks in the Red Sea "increase human suffering and cause the suspension of aid to those who benefit from it in Yemen," said Fahmi al-Zubairi, director general of the human rights office in Sanaa.

The WFP had in December announced the suspension of aid distribution in Houthi-controlled areas due to the failure to reach an agreement with the Houthis on the mechanism of distribution, he told Al-Fassel.

Now the Iran-backed group is threatening "beneficiaries in areas outside its control, and this threatens to increase the severity of famine and food insecurity to the highest levels," he said.

"It is natural that fears would rise to a high degree over the cutoff of the aid provided by the program as a consequence of the Houthis' attacks on merchant vessels,” Deputy Minister of Justice Faisal al-Majeedi told Al-Fassel.

As a result of the attacks on commercial vessels, shipping costs and insurance premiums have risen, he said, which "threatens widespread famine after nine years of war sparked by Iran's Houthi proxies in Yemen."

"The primary victims of the incidents in the Red Sea are the Yemeni people, because this has so far led to an increase in food prices," al-Majeedi said.

"The government fears this will lead to a scarcity of foodstuffs because Yemen is a net importer of food," he added, pointing out that the Houthis have harmed the poor.