United Nations: The UN humanitarian chief says a humanitarian organisation founded by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz has signed eight agreements with the United Nations that will provide $244 million (Dh895.4 million) in aid for war-ravaged Yemen.
Stephen O’Brien told a news conference the cash is already flowing and he expects the ninth and final agreement with the King Salman Centre for Relief and Humanitarian Aid to be signed in the coming days.
The United Nations appealed for $274 million in emergency aid for Yemen in April and in May Saudi Arabia pledged to fully fund the appeal.
In the meantime, the humanitarian needs in Yemen have escalated to $1.6 billion, which O’Brien said is only about 40 per cent funded.
Fighting in Yemen has killed more than 4,000 people, leaving the Arab world’s poorest country in the grip of a humanitarian crisis and on the brink of famine. The UN says more than 21 million people — 80 per cent of the population — need humanitarian assistance.
The conflict pits President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, a US ally, against Iranian-backed Al Houthi militants — who seized the capital, Sana’a, last year — and military units loyal to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
A Saudi-led and US-backed coalition began launching air strikes against the Al Houthis and their allies on March 26.
Abdullah Al Rabeeah, director of the King Salman Centre which was set up in May, said aid was given without bias.
“Our aid is impartial and we are not involved in any politics,” he said. “We are able to reach all provinces in Yemen, including those under Al Houthi control.”
Al Rabeeah said he would welcome a cease-fire “provided that all parties will abide by the cease-fire”. He said however that Saudi Arabia does not trust Al Houthi militants to abide by such a truce, the head of a Saudi centre that coordinates humanitarian assistance for Yemen said on Monday.
“From our previous experience the ceasefire was not acknowledged and it was violated,” Al Rabeeah told reporters. “If there is a ceasefire it has to be a realistic ceasefire.” Several attempts at a humanitarian truce have failed with the warring parties blaming each other for violations.
Yemen relies on imports, but shipments to the Arabian Peninsula state have slowed to a trickle.
A US Navy report said earlier this month that the blockade on the country was slowing aid delivery by warning commercial vessels to stay away from areas hit by fighting, an accusation the coalition denied.
“The first and the best humanitarian response is for the fighting to stop and that is what is urged at all times on all the parties engaged,” O’Brien said.
In a bid to increase commercial shipments to Yemen, he said the United Nations had come up with its mechanism to inspect any suspicious vessels but was still trying to raise the $8 million needed for it to be operational.
Yemen only received 1 per cent of its monthly commercial fuel needs in September, the United Nations said. Access to water usually depends on fuel-powered pumps, while hospitals struggle to operate without fuel and aid cannot be delivered.
