UN: Millions of Yemenis will receive less food aid in coming months
Over four million Yemenis will receive less food aid as a result of funding shortages, the UN's food agency said Friday. From the end of September onward, the WFP will make difficult decisions about further cuts to its food assistance programmes across the country in the coming months. "We are confronted with the incredibly tough reality of making decisions to take food from the hungry to feed the starving," said WFP's Yemen representative Richard Ragan.
Government forces on Thursday seized smuggled weapons on board a boat in Bab al-Mandab, west of Taiz governorate, the state-run Saba News Agency reported on Thursday. The owner of the boat was captured and referred for further investigation. The source did not clarify the number of weapons or their types found on the boat. Weapons smuggling to Yemen has intensified since the war started in 2015. In February this year, US and French forces intercepted an Iranian shipment of weapons heading to Yemen through the Gulf of Oman.
The director of the Mawiyah District in Taiz, Abdul Jabbar Al-Sarari, on Friday, said the Ansar Allah (Houthi group) shelled villages in Al-Hawamrah of Mawiyah district. Al-Sarari stated that the Houthi group bombed the villages with 40 mortar shells, leaving massive damage to the property and homes of citizens, the burning of farms and the killing of some cattle. Despite the lull in fighting Yemen has seen since last year, the Taiz frontlines continue to see sporadic violent clashes between the Houthi fighters and government forces.
On Friday, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi state media reported. The meeting was part of the Iranian foreign minister's first tour to Saudi Arabia. The two officials discussed bilateral ties and future opportunities for cooperation between Tehran and Riyadh. Amir-Abdollahian described the meeting with the crown prince as 'a frank, frank, beneficial and productive conversation'.
On Friday, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan discussed regional crises, including Sudan and Yemen, with his US counterpart Antony Blinken, a statement by the State Department said. Regarding the war in Yemen, the two officials committed to redouble efforts to secure a lasting peace through a UN-mediated Yemeni-Yemeni peace process, according to the statement. The two countries have worked together to de-escalate regional tensions over the past years.