Yemen teeters towards famine
Member of Yemen pro-government forces walk through a destroyed industrial distric, Hodeida.- AFP |
Fighting breaks out in the Yemeni port-city of Hodeida as
efforts towards a cease-fire accelerate.
By Nathan Morley
Yemeni army officials have accused the Iranian-backed Houthi
rebels of firing in the eastern part of the city on Monday afternoon, with
reports claiming pro-government forces responded, and then, Saudi-led coalition
jets launched air-strikes.
The Saudis have accused Tehran of shipping arms to the
rebels through the port — a charge Iran denies. Separately, Saudi Arabia and
the United Arab Emirates have said they would spend $500 million to tackle food
shortages in Yemen, as the country heads towards the worst famine anywhere in
the world in a century.
Meanwhile, a proposed UN resolution urges Yemen's warring
parties to re-launch negotiations to end the three-year conflict and take
urgent steps to tackle the dire humanitarian crisis. It also calls for a halt
to missile and drone attacks and for all roadblocks preventing the delivery of
humanitarian aid to be removed.
UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock says Yemen's economic
crisis and escalating conflict had pushed the nation closer to famine. Another
UN official said 12 million of the 28 million Yemenis ‘are just one step away
from famine’.
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