UN: If Houthis do not stop food aid theft, assistance will be cut off

On Monday, January 1, the World Food Programme, a UN agency, warned the Houthi militants in Yemen that if they do not prevent the theft of food aid and conduct necessary investigations, the organization will stop its assistance. According to the Associated Press, this serious warning from the World Food Programme is unprecedented and could affect food aid to three million people. While the UN has warned about corruption and inefficiency in the distribution of food aid, a large portion of the Yemeni population is on the brink of famine and hunger due to the four-year war in the country. David Beasley, the director of the World Food Programme, wrote in a letter to Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthi militants, that investigations by the agency show that in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, only 40 percent of the aid sent has reached eligible recipients of food rations. Beasley warned that if no action is taken in the next 10 days, the World Food Programme will have no choice but to stop sending aid to three million people. The director emphasized that such actions must cease. In this context, the Associated Press reported that militants on both sides involved in the Yemen war are stealing international food aid and profiting from it. Earlier on Monday, the World Food Programme accused the Houthi militants of 'stealing food from the mouths of hungry people.' The agency stated that it has images and evidence showing that Houthi militants are stealing food rations and manipulating the list of those in need. According to the report, the UN currently provides food assistance to eight million people in Yemen and aims to increase this number to 12 million. The UN is trying to take over the registration of those in need, but the Houthi militants are unwilling to allow this process to be handed over to the UN.