Yemen: Houthi steals international aid from Hodeida port
UN humanitarian agencies send humanitarian aid only through the port of Hodeida, which is under Houthi control, and other ports are not used in the liberated areas (Al-Mukalla-Aden- Mocha), raising many questions.
Hodeida ports empty
The head of the UN Mission in Support of the Hodeida Agreement, Major General Michael Burry, ended his first week-long visit to the region to discuss efforts to intensify monitoring to ensure that the ports of Hodeida, in western Yemen, which are controlled by the Houthi terrorist militia, are free of weapons and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid.
Burry visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, UNAMA said in a press release.
The talks focused on ways to intensify the monitoring mission’s efforts to ensure Hodeida’s ports are free of weapons and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid, she said.
Burry reiterated the importance of preserving the civilian character of ports and preventing further escalation to protect the people of Hodeida.
The statement added: “Burry met in Riyadh with Maj. Gen. Mohammed Musleh Aydah, the head of the Redeployment Coordination Committee, senior Saudi officials and military leaders, held talks with Saudi Ambassador Mohammed al-Jaber, and met in Abu Dhabi with representatives of the Emirati defense and foreign ministries”.
The UN official held in-depth discussions with the five member states of the Security Council, calling for continued support for the mandate of the mission, especially after the transformation of the military landscape, according to the statement.
In late January, Burry took up his duties as the fourth head of the mission and the Redeployment Coordination Committee, established under the Stockholm Agreement signed between the legitimate government and the Houthi militia under UN auspices in December 2018.
The UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, told the Security Council that the use of the port of Hodeida for military purposes by the Houthis was being investigated after the Coalition for the Support of Legitimacy in Yemen provided evidence that Houthi militias had used the ports of Hodeida and As-Salif for military purposes.
The coalition also presented images of a Houthi military test area near As-Salif Port, noting that militias are testing boat bombs near the port.
The militias are using Iran’s Noor missile system to target ships off Hodeidah, he said, displaying evidence of boat bombs and testing to threaten international navigation.
Theft of international aid
Maria Maalouf, a writer and political analyst, said that since they took control of the Yemeni capital, all the way to the port of Hodeidah, the Houthi militia has been excessively stealing international aid and violating agreements, including the Stockholm Agreement. Of course, the militia can smuggle Iranian weapons through this port, instead of using it to help millions of Yemeni people. The Houthi militia has repudiated the Stockholm Agreement, obstructed the implementation of its provisions, looted humanitarian aid, and redeployed its forces to Hodeida. Today, the port is a center for receiving weapons, booby-trapping and launching boats, pirates, and the continuous threat to international navigation.
She added in an article: We all remember what happened during the past three years when Houthi putschists continued to target relief convoys and prevent them from reaching civilians. At that time, the Yemeni government demanded that the route of relief materials be changed through the port of Aden, rather than the port of Hodeidah, to ensure unimpeded access to deserving people. The Yemeni government also proposed that the United Nations take over control of the port, in order to counter the flow of arms to the putschists who aim to prolong the war in Yemen.
Houthi control
The Yemeni army’s chief of staff, Lieutenant General Saghir bin Aziz, has warned that the port of Hodeida remains under the control of the Houthi group.
Speaking on his Twitter account, Ben Aziz said: “The port of Hodeida is still under Houthi control, and only evil will reap from it the Yemenis”.
The Houthi group uses the port of Hodeida for two military missions, one to receive weapons, technical equipment, and smuggled foreign experts, and the other to use it as a launching pad for maritime terrorist attacks against international shipping, evidence recently confirmed by UN reports.
