News / Yemen

Houthi slams ‘weak’ UN response to Saudi blockade, Yemen humanitarian crisis

Monday, 31 May 2021 6:52 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 31 May 2021 8:44 AM ]

Yemeni child Meshaal Mohammad, a four-year-old who weighs nine kilograms due to acute malnutrition, is held by his mother inside a hut at a camp for the internally displaced in Yemen's northern Hajjah province on March 2, 2021. (Photo by AFP)

The leader of Yemen’s Ansarullah movement has decried the United Nations’ “weak” response to the Saudi-led blockade imposed on Yemen, which is grappling with the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

During a meeting with UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths in Sana'a on Sunday, Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi referred to the UN’s reaction to the Saudi siege, which blocks the entry of food, medicine and petroleum products, criticizing the UN for turning a bling eye to the blackmailing of the Yemenis.

Houthi emphasized the Yemeni people's right to have access to oil derivatives, medical supplies and foodstuffs, “whatever the circumstances might be”.

“The blockade is a collective punishment and a procedure that violates international decisions and humanitarian norms and contradicts all laws.”

He also decried attempts to link the humanitarian issue to political and military files “as an explicit confiscation” of the basic rights of the Yemeni people, stressing that it is an “unacceptable” equation.

Houthi also urged the UN to take action to provide access to basic needs for the Yemenis, stressing that addressing the humanitarian issue is “the actual entrance to all files”.

He said if the Saudi-led coalition thinks that its siege on Yemen would strengthen its position, “then it is delusional”, noting that the ongoing blockade reveals the kingdom's true intentions and proves that it doesn’t want peace.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies -- including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) -- launched a brutal war against Yemen in March 2015.

Yemen government: Saudi, UAE, Israeli occupation of Yemeni islands violates intl. law

Yemen’s government once again strongly denounces the occupation of its islands by Saudi Arabia-led coalition, saying the move is a blatant violation of international law.

The war was launched to eliminate Ansarullah and restore the former regime of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi to power in Yemen.

Yemeni armed forces and allied Popular Committees have, however, gone from strength to strength against the Saudi-led invaders, and left Riyadh and its allies bogged down in the country.

The Saudi-led military aggression has left hundreds of thousands of Yemenis dead, and displaced millions of people.

The Saudi war has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories.

The UN says more than 24 million Yemenis are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme levels of hunger. The world body also refers to the situation in Yemen as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

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