Yemen's Houthi rebels impeding UN aid flow, demand a cut

  • 📰 AP
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 111 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 48%
  • Publisher: 51%

United States Headlines News

United States Latest News,United States Headlines

Behind the scenes, U.N. and Houthis wrestle over the control of a multibillion-dollar international aid campaign for Yemen, as rebel demands hold up dozens of programs, including vital food deliveries in a starving country.

In this Oct. 1, 2018 file photo, a malnourished boy sits on a hospital bed at the Aslam Health Center, Hajjah, Yemen. Houthi rebels in Yemen have blocked half of the United Nations’ aid delivery programs in the war-torn country — a strong-arm tactic to force the agency to give them greater control over the massive humanitarian campaign, along with a cut of billions of dollars in foreign assistance, according to aid officials and internal documents obtained by The Associated Press.

The U.N. has largely kept quiet in public about the pressure, but behind the scenes the agency and international donors are digging in against the Houthi demands. The AP spoke to seven workers and officials from U.N. and independent agencies about the situation. All spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. The AP also saw dozens of documents, including emails of aid officials.

Last week, the Houthis appeared to back off the 2% demand, but continue to press for other concessions, according to aid officials. The Houthis have withheld visas and permissions for equipment and supplies and refused to grant clearances for U.N. missions to move through rebel-controlled areas. Aid workers said agency leaders’ past willingness to concede to some of the rebels’ demands has emboldened the Houthi leaders to push for more.

Tawoos accused Grande, the top U.N. official in Yemen, of sending false reports about Houthis restricting the movement of U.N. humanitarian operations. Houthi leaders have threatened to expel her from the country. The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels control the capital, Sanaa, and much of the country’s north, where most of the population lives and the need for aid is greatest. They are at war with a U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalition fighting on behalf of the internationally recognized government.

Qassim Hussein al-Houthi, the head of the international agencies department in the Houthi presidency, said the money was necessary for SCMCHA’s operating expenses. “Not even a simple project can be carried out in northern Yemen without the consent and supervision of this body,” said a Yemeni chief of a local aid organization.U.N. agencies continued to put hundreds of millions of dollars into Houthi accounts for “capacity building,” a common practice in humanitarian programs to ensure government bodies function.

Still, last summer, the U.N. requested all agencies report how much they were giving in direct cash transfers. In 2019, the total reached $370 million, around 10% of the entire international aid budget for Yemen, according to a U.N. spreadsheet obtained by the AP. Around $133 million was marked in the spreadsheet as “not audited.”

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

Why not just air drop it and bypass the dumb wrangling?

Happens every time.

_Images Both should leave and let the USA and the UK give aid.

picture of imperialistic aggression by USA and poodles EU,

Call Bloomberg. Bet he'll sponsor that country ,. NOT

How is this Yemen... How can we allow this to happen😞😞😞😞

Yemen this war will completely shut down and keep aids from coming those who really in need.

The Saudis have been saying the same thing in their 60 Minutes interview. Feels like two Yemenis tyrants are at war and no one gives a flying fck about the Yemenis children.

Article written to prop up Lise Grande, she is part of the problem and not the solution in Yemen.

Doesn’t Lise Grande know what she is doing? She is over her head and people in Yemen are starving. She has been appeasing the Iranian backed Houthis contrary to what your article says...

WHY not ask Bloomberg how much he invests to combat world hunger? The $450 million already spent on media buys would be better used to feed those living in the US, who go to bed hungry.

Saudi Arabia is causing this suffering in Yemen, and the US administration aka Trump/Pompeo is supplying/supporting them. Congress passed a bill which would end all US involvement with this genocide via Saudi. But Trump vetoed it and refuses to stop. Pompeo is en route to Saudi

Prayers for the HUMAN BEINGS suffering and for workers tirelessly trying to save them. Dear God, this and many other circumstances all over the world should tear at the very fiber of our souls. Brush off your humanity and at least speak up.

realdonaldtrump FLOTUS KellyannePolls SecPompeo DanScavino mschlapp I am sorry this is not humanly possible to watch anymore.We r against full term abortion and then we let millions of INNOCENT kids die? Please do something now. The Saudis must stop this genocide.

We humans should be ashamed of ourselves. How the fuck do we allow such dire situation to prevail on US as we mind our own personal petty businesses.

Stop with the fighting. Men.

Heartbreaking.

It should be obvious the Houthis don't have the best interest of the Yemeni people in mind. They want power, that's it. But because they oppose another tyrant, the house of Saud, they are by default categorized as rebels fighting injustice in the minds of people.

OMG.

A checked crowdfunding to save a child it's an emergency

Lord have mercy.

21 век на дворе. Не стыдно? Очередной опыт над детьми?

So sad ! This picture shows the combination of 2 terrorist governments. The Saudis soldiers with U.S guns.

Everyone should be forced to see this.

Behind the scenes, Western powers are flooding Saudi Arabia with weapons to kill yemenis

so sad, what are people fighting for? Power? for whom? can't be for people if they die of poverty and undernourishment led starvation..

The people of Yemen are screwed. The Houthis rob them and the Saudi’s bomb them.

Did not need to see this picture.

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 728. in US

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

UN says Houthi rebels impeding aid flow in YemenThe rebel group has made granting access to areas under their control contingent on a flurry of conditions that aid agencies reject, in part because it would give the Houthis greater sway over who receives aid, documents and interviews show.
Source: trtworld - 🏆 101. / 63 Read more »

Saudi jet 'downing' in Yemen stirs alarm over Houthi weaponryThe Iranian-backed Houthi rebels said they downed the Tornado aircraft on Friday over the volatile northern province of Al-Jawf, in a setback for the Riyadh-led military coalition that has always enjoyed air supremacy in the conflict.
Source: trtworld - 🏆 101. / 63 Read more »

UN balks as Yemen rebels try to control the flow of aidYemen’s Houthi rebels have blocked half of the United Nations’ aid delivery programs in the war-torn country — a strong-arm tactic to force the agency to give them greater control over the massive... thats holocaust skinny no more money then Why is the U.N. funding rebels. This needs to stop
Source: AP - 🏆 728. / 51 Read more »

UN balks as Yemen rebels try to control the flow of aidYemen’s Houthi rebels have blocked half of the United Nations’ aid delivery programs in the war-torn country — a strong-arm tactic to force the agency to give them greater control over the massive... The UN is one useless institution. We all know who's to blame for the atrocities in Yemen but can't do anything about it Well if you’d look at who’s supplying the aid, you’ll see it’s the country’s profiting from their misery. Don’t worry, 100% of the money Saudi Arabia has given to US defense contractors are going through
Source: AP - 🏆 728. / 51 Read more »

UN says Houthi rebels impeding aid flow in YemenThe rebel group has made granting access to areas under their control contingent on a flurry of conditions that aid agencies reject, in part because it would give the Houthis greater sway over who receives aid, documents and interviews show.
Source: trtworld - 🏆 101. / 63 Read more »

UN balks as Yemen rebels try to control the flow of aidYemen’s Houthi rebels have blocked half of the United Nations’ aid delivery programs in the war-torn country — a strong-arm tactic to force the agency to give them greater control over the massive... The UN is one useless institution. We all know who's to blame for the atrocities in Yemen but can't do anything about it Well if you’d look at who’s supplying the aid, you’ll see it’s the country’s profiting from their misery. Don’t worry, 100% of the money Saudi Arabia has given to US defense contractors are going through
Source: AP - 🏆 728. / 51 Read more »