Saudi Arabia has invited Russia to use its land ports, including Jazan, in order to get humanitarian aid to conflict-torn Yemen, the supervisor general of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, told Sputnik
UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th September, 2019) Saudi Arabia has invited Russia to use its land ports, including Jazan, in order to get humanitarian aid to conflict-torn Yemen, the supervisor general of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, told Sputnik."Saudi Arabia has offered its partners, including Russia, by the way, to use the land ports of Saudi Arabia going to the north of Yemen and also Jazan port which is a huge Saudi port much closer to the north of Yemen than Al Hudaydah and the WFP [World Food Programme] and WHO [World Health Organization] are now starting to use it," Al-Rabeeah said.
He explained that Saudi Arabia did not use the port city of Al Hudaydah as it was controlled by the Houthi movement, which is currently fighting against the Saudi-backed Yemeni government. However, it has been using the other eight ports in Yemen, Al-Rabeeah said.
"The United Nations tried through the Stockholm Agreement to liberate that port [Al Hudaydah] and make it under international monitoring. As you know and I know, the Houthis have rejected that. But I always tell our humanitarian partners, Yemen is not only Al Hudaydah. Yemen has nine ports, so use what it takes to access Yemen. We do not use Al Hudaydah for us. We use the other eight ports," Al-Rabeeah said.
Since 2015, Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and the Houthi rebels. The Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request, with the movement regularly striking Saudi territory in turn. The conflict has resulted in stark food shortages and a spike in the spread of disease.
