Saudi-coalition agrees to refuel UN aid aircraft in Yemen

The Saudi-led coalition has agreed to allow UN aid aircraft to refuel in Yemen, An-Nahar reported yesterday. The move follows an incident last week when UN planes flying from Amman and Djibouti were denied access to refuel for the return journey. The coalition cited a lack of sufficient fuel.

According to Oki Lutsma, the head of the UN Development Programme in Yemen, the international organisation has experienced difficulties when requesting fuel from the Yemenis and Saudi-led coalition due to shortages in the capital Sana’a. Fuel will be transported from Aden in southern Yemen this week, said UN spokesman Stephen Dujarric.

Read: Saudi-led coalition undermines aid delivery to starving Yemenis says the UN

The civil war in Yemen has escalated since the start of the military intervention by a Saudi-led coalition in early 2015. The coalition controls Sana’a airport, which is closed due to the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels having control over the capital city itself. Only a limited and strictly controlled number of aircraft are permitted to land and take off.