by WorldTribune Staff, May 22, 2018

Iran-backed Houthi rebels are plundering humanitarian aid supplies the UN is sending to Yemen, a report said.

The Houthis are manipulating the names of people entitled to relief aid and taking the supplies to use in the war effort or selling them on the black market, said Abdul Raqeeb Fateh, Yemeni Minister of Local Administration and chairman of Higher Committee for Relief, according to a May 21 report by the Saudi Gazette.

Fateh said in a statement broadcast by Yemeni state-run news that the Houthis’ actions are in violation of international law and he called on UN organizations to break their silence on the theft of humanitarian relief supplies.

The Yemeni government has also received information that neighborhood leaders in areas controlled by the Houthis are being forced to approve humanitarian aid lists that benefit Houthi followers, Information Minister Muammar Al-Eryani said.

“The Houthi militias have also established fake institutions and associations to receive humanitarian aid and sell it in local markets,” the Saudi Gazette report said.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s army reported making new progress against the Houthis in Saada province.

Brig. Gen. Yasser Al-Harthi, commander of the 102nd Brigade, said Yemeni forces recaptured large parts of Wadi Al-Thuaban, Yafia Al-Souqra mountain ranges, Tabab Yazhar and parts of Al-Hadeed mountains during a military operation at the start of Ramadan.

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  Abdul Raqeeb Fateh, humanitarian relief, Muammar Al-Eryani, Report: Houthis stealing UN humanitarian relief supplies to Yemen, WorldTribune.com