UN warns over mass famine in Yemen over Saudi blockade

The UN’s aid chief has warned that Saudi Arabia's blockade on Yemen is putting millions of people in danger of a mass famine.

The UN undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs, Mark Lowcock, on Wednesday stressed that unless the war-torn country’s borders are reopened, "it will be the largest famine the world has seen for many decades, with millions of victims."

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia announced that it was shutting down Yemen’s air, sea, and land borders, after Yemeni fighters targeted an international airport near the Saudi capital.

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Lowcock made the remarks following a closed-door UN Security Council meeting held over the situation in Yemen.

He went on to stress that UN humanitarian flights must be given access to the capital Sana’a and the port city of Aden.

"Immediate access to all sea ports" must be returned in order to deliver fuel, food and other vital supplies to the country, the UN official stated.

Lowcock added that assurances must also be given that the Saudis will not interrupt the said access.

The Security Council earlier issued a statement calling on the Riyadh regime to keep Yemen's air and sea ports open to ensure humanitarian aids reach the war-torn country.

During a closed-door meeting, council members expressed concern about the "dire humanitarian situation in Yemen," and stressed "the importance of keeping all of Yemen's ports and airports functioning," Italian Ambassador Sebastiano Cardi, who holds the council presidency, told reporters.

Read More:

• UN: Saudi blockade hindering aid delivery to starving Yemenis
• Yemen cancels all flights due to Saudi blockade of impoverished country
• UN, Red Cross urge Saudi-led coalition to reopen aid lifeline into Yemen

Aid agencies slam air, sea, land blockade   

Meanwhile, the Oxfam charity group, CARE and Save the Children along with 14 other humanitarian agencies have voiced deep concern over the blocked imposed on Yemen.

"Aid ships in Hudaydah haven’t been allowed to off-load, and at least three United Nations humanitarian air assistance flights have been denied approval since November 6. We are deeply concerned as this has a direct impact on our ability to maintain life-saving assistance. Yemen is one step away from famine, cholera is rife and provision of public services continues to deteriorate,” said the director of CARE, Johan Mooij.

“It’s already been tough enough to get help in – we’ve been forced to rely on routes that are long and slow for years. But if access shuts off entirely, even for a single week, then disaster will be the result. This is the nightmare scenario, and children will likely die as a result. It is crucial that aid workers and vital supplies like food, medicine and fuel are permitted to enter Yemen freely and without delay, and all blocks are removed,” said Save the Children Director Tamer Kirolos.

“Yemen is the world's biggest humanitarian crisis, with 21 million people in desperate need of assistance. To prevent more lives from being lost and the needless suffering of millions, it is vital that aid is not delayed or impeded another hour,” said Oxfam country Director Shane Stevenson.

Saudi Arabia has been incessantly pounding Yemen since March 2015 in an attempt to crush the popular Houthi Ansarullah movement and reinstate former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is a staunch ally of the Riyadh regime.

More than 12,000 people have been killed since the onset of the campaign more than two-and-a-half years ago. Much of the Arabian Peninsula country's infrastructure, including hospitals, schools and factories, has been reduced to rubble due to the war.

Another 2,100 people have died of cholera since April as hospitals struggle to secure basic supplies across the country.

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