Yemen on brink of famine, UN official says

Aid official says ‘scale of human suffering almost incomprehensible,’ slams ‘unacceptable’ Saudi air strikes

 

The top United Nations aid official on Wednesday strongly criticized Saudi-led air strikes on the Yemen port of Hodeida, a lifeline for imports of food, medicine and fuel.

 

“These attacks are in clear contravention of international humanitarian law and are unacceptable,” Stephen O’Brien told the Security Council.

 

The aid chief said he was “extremely concerned” that damage from the bombings “could have a severe impact on the entire country,” worsening the humanitarian crisis.

 

Already 80 percent of Yemen’s population of 26 million are in desperate need of aid, and nearly 1.5 million have been driven from their homes in the nearly five-month war.

 

Hodeida is controlled by the Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels who have been on the offensive for a year, driving President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi into exile in Saudi Arabia.

 

In March, Saudi Arabia and its Arab partners launched an air war to restore Hadi’s authority.

 

Returning from a visit to Yemen, O’Brien said the “scale of human suffering is almost incomprehensible.”

 

“I was shocked by what I saw.”

 

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