Yemen Monitor/Newsroom:
The Houthi group accused the United Nations and its organizations on Sunday of working to politicize humanitarian work in the areas they control.
In a press conference in Sa’ada Governorate (the main stronghold of the Houthis in the north of the country), the group called on the UN Secretary-General to neutralize humanitarian aid and not use it as a political pressure card by him or by those who control the work of UN organizations.
The group said that it “condemns the United Nations’ move to politicize humanitarian work by announcing the suspension of all humanitarian assistance operations and programs in the governorate.”
It added, “This announcement represents a new and blatant aggression against those with urgent humanitarian needs, including displaced persons, the sick, and the poor in the governorate, and a new blockade that violates international and humanitarian laws, conventions, and norms, and cannot be justified.”
The local authority in Sa’ada considered this step a “diversion of humanitarian work for intelligence purposes in service of the US and Israeli enemy, and it comes in the context of the UN’s systematic targeting of the governorate by reducing aid during recent years in an attempt to punish the Yemenis for their principled stance on the Palestinian issue.”
It also considered that one of the reasons for this decision is “the connection of the UN Secretary-General’s decisions and the World Food Program’s decisions to the political positions and the military and security situations in the region, and their dependence on the US decision, which makes them a partner in the siege of the Yemenis.”
It mentioned that the WFP stopped distributing food aid “since the start of the support operations for the people of Gaza more than 16 months ago.”
The local authority in Sa’ada expressed its hope for a reversal of this announcement, holding the Secretary-General “responsible for the consequences of this arbitrary measure.”
It stressed that it will take all legal measures and means to protect the people of the governorate and not “blackmail them with humanitarian aid.”
The United Nations announced about a week ago the suspension of all its humanitarian operations and programs in Sa’ada Governorate (the main stronghold of the Houthis) until the release of its staff detained by the group.
One of the WFP’s employees died a week ago in a Houthi detention center in Sa’ada, amid local and international condemnations.
