NEW YORK (Dispatches) – Nearly 40% of the Yemeni population are facing “inadequate food” problems, a UN body warned.
Despite continued efforts to mitigate the risk of famine in Yemen, food insecurity continues to remain a key challenge in the country, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Twitter, Anadolu news agency reported.
“Acute food insecurity is a reality for 16.2 million persons,” the statement added.
Saudi Arabia launched the devastating military aggression against its southern neighbor in March 2015 in collaboration with a number of its allied states and with arms and logistics support from the U.S. and several Western states.
The aim was to return to power the former Riyadh-backed regime and crush the popular Ansarullah movement.
The war has stopped well shy of all of its goals, despite killing tens of thousands of Yemenis and turning entire Yemen into the scene of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Despite heavily-armed Saudi Arabia’s incessant bombardment of the impoverished country, the Yemeni armed forces and the Popular Committees have grown steadily in strength against the Saudi-led invaders and left Riyadh and its allies bogged down in the country.
In a latest move, the spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces said on Monday the country’s naval troops, backed by allied fighters from Popular Committees, managed to seize a UAE-flagged vessel off the port of Hudaydah as it was carrying military equipment and engaging in hostile acts.
Brigadier General Yahya Saree stated that the Yemeni forces and their allies captured the vessel after it trespassed into Yemen’s territorial waters and was acting against the security and stability of the country.
The spokesman for Yemen’s popular Ansarullah resistance movement praised Yemeni naval forces for seizing the UAE-flagged cargo vessel, stating that the incident took the Saudi regime and its allies by surprise and caused an intense feeling of fear in them.
“We extend our thanks to Yemeni naval forces for carrying out such a courageous and challenging military operation, which sent a chill down the aggressors’ spine. The seizure conveyed a clear message to them and their sponsors that Yemen can inflict a defeat on them but will not be defeated,” Mohammed Abdulsalam wrote in a post published on his Twitter page.
He added, “The Yemeni nation expects the country’s armed forces, in the wake of this unique operation, to notch up greater achievements in the future.”
Meanwhile, Yemeni military and political affairs expert Brigadier General Abdul Ghani al-Zubaidi told Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen television news network that the seizure of the Emirati-flagged vessel debunked the myth of Saudi Arabia’s strategic security.
“In case the UAE opts to show reactions, the course of events will change and our missiles would likely be fired at it. The operation clearly points to the preparedness and great capabilities of the Yemeni Armed Forces as it is an audacious task to detain a military vessel,” Zubaidi said.