Yemeni official: Houthis looted 63 shipments of aid

A senior Yemeni official yesterday accused Houthi rebels and their allies of looting 63 aid ships in Yemen, state-run Saba news agency reported.

The Houthi militias have looted 63 aid ships and confiscated 550 humanitarian relief convoys allocated by the humanitarian relief programmes for the Yemeni people

Deputy Minister of Local Administration Abdul Salam Ba-Abboud said during a seminar with Yemeni scientists in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

“The coup militia has destroyed life in Yemen and has left more than 20 million people in need of a range of assistance, while more than 24 million need health services,” he said.

Read: 36 civilians tortured by Houthis ahead of trial

The official accused the Houthis of implementing expansionist colonial agenda that targets the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf, with direct support from Iran, to control international shipping.

The Yemeni people are suffering from poor health and deteriorating security conditions as the war between a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states against Houthi rebels and forces loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has been ongoing since March 2015.