Aden - Al Houthi forces denied the UN access to a grain storage site in the Yemeni port of Hodeida yesterday, sources familiar with the matter said, hindering efforts to increase food aid to millions facing severe hunger.

Hodeida is the entry point for most of Yemen’s humanitarian aid and commercial imports. World Food Programme (WFP) grain stores there have been cut off in the conflict zone for six months, putting the contents at risk of rotting.

A WFP technical team was scheduled to cross the front line between the Iran-aligned Al Houthi movement forces and the Saudi-backed government on the eastern outskirts of Hodeida to fumigate the wheat stored in the Red Sea Mills.

But Al Houthi forces told the WFP team they could not leave Al Houthi-held areas inside Hodeida city for “security reasons”, asking the United Nations instead for a way to investigate attacks on the mills.

“The [Al] Houthis argued that government forces will target the UN and then they will be blamed for it,” one source aware of the discussion said. “[But] if the wheat is not fumigated, it will be lost.” The WFP regained access to the mills last month, a step hailed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The grain stores there have more than 51,000 tonnes of wheat, enough to feed 3.7 million people.

WFP spokesman Herve Verhoosel said a WFP mission to the Red Sea Mills was scheduled for yesterday but was postponed due to “safety concerns”. Verhoosel declined to give details.

Yemeni government officials accused Al Houthis of another violation of the peace agreement signed last year which the United Nations has been struggling to implement.

Al Houthis and the government of Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi agreed at UN-sponsored talks in December to a truce and troop withdrawal from Hodeida.

But talks aimed at securing a mutual military withdrawal from Hodeida have stalled despite UN efforts to salvage the deal and nudge both sides to agree on steps towards disengagement after four years of war.

Under the deal, the government retreat would free up access to the Red Sea Mills and humanitarian corridors would also be reopened. The warring sides would still need to agree on which road could be used to transport supplies from the site to needy recipients.

The WFP is now reaching about 10 million Yemenis per month with food aid and hopes to scale up to 12 million this year, but sporadic clashes make Hodeida and its province unsafe despite the ceasefire agreement.