Sanaa (AFP)
Rebels in Yemen Tuesday destroyed tons of "outdated" food products supplied as aid, a UN source said the food had been held for months in the country at war and on the brink of starvation.
In the Yemeni capital Sanaa under their control, Houthi rebels used shovels to destroy large quantities of bags containing rice and flour and bearing the World Food Program (WFP) logo, a UN organization.
"These products were out of date and full of small insects (...) They were not even good for animals," said Houthi official Majed Sari.
According to a UN source, "the destroyed humanitarian aid should have been distributed in November 2018 to families from Taëz", Yemen's third largest city in the south-west of the country. "But she was held at a checkpoint for months."
The devastating war in Yemen was unleashed in 2014 with an offensive by Houthi rebels who, from their northern stronghold, seized vast swathes of territory, including Sanaa. Helped since 2015 by a military coalition commanded by neighboring Saudi Arabia, the government is trying to defeat the Houthis.
The conflict in this poor country in the Arabian Peninsula has left tens of thousands dead, including many civilians, according to NGOs, and plunged the country into the worst humanitarian crisis in the world according to the UN.
WFP, which claims to feed nearly 11 million people every month in Yemen, announced on 9 August that it will resume food aid to Yemen in rebel-held areas, suspended for nearly two months after charges of embezzlement help from the Houthis.
According to a WFP spokesperson, the organization "distributes more than 130,000 tons of food each month" in Yemen, despite "operational challenges".
"WFP needs unimpeded access to all areas to provide food assistance to those who need it most," he told AFP.
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