International agencies faced a slew of bureaucratic impediments as they attempted to distribute aid in Yemen this year, with the greatest number of restrictions occurring in areas controlled by the Iran IRGC-backed militias in Yemen.
In a quarterly report published June 20, the United Nations (UN) Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Yemen says 89% of incidents restricting the movement of goods and aid occurred in IRGC-backed Houthi-controlled areas.
The distribution of humanitarian aid in Yemen remains a challenge because of bureaucratic impediments, it said, noting that obstacles imposed by the Houthis, paired with funding shortages, may result in increasing the level of famine.
This is not the first time the Houthis have impeded the operations of international aid organizations, economist Faris al-Najjar told Al-Mashareq, accusing the IRGC-backed group of plundering and looting aid.
Yemeni Deputy Minister of Legal Affairs and Human Rights Nabil Abdul Hafeez accused the Houthis’ Aid Co-ordination Council of interfering with the food distribution lists.
Earlier this month a British Royal Navy vessel seized a sophisticated shipment of Iranian missiles in the Gulf of Oman earlier this year, officials said Thursday, pointing to the interdiction as proof of Tehran’s support for the Houthi militias in Yemen.
The British government statement provided some of the strongest findings to date that Tehran is arming the Houthis against the legitimate government with advanced weapons smuggled through the Gulf.