UN Warns One Million At Risk Of Starvation In Yemen

The United Nations has warned that one million people in Yemen could face starvation within months as fighting and foreign airstrikes worsen the country’s already dire humanitarian crisis.

UN Emergency Relief Chief Tom Fletcher told the Security Council that food insecurity has reached unprecedented levels, with “70 per cent of households unable to meet daily needs, the highest rate ever recorded.”

He cautioned that unless conditions change, a million lives could be lost by February.

The warning comes amid Israeli airstrikes on Houthi-controlled ports in response to rebel attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

The strikes, which damaged key docks and fuel storage facilities in Hudaydah and Salif, have affected imports to a nation that relies on foreign supplies for 90 per cent of its food.

Aid deliveries have been further disrupted by fighting between the Houthis and rival factions, including southern separatists.

The Telegraph reports that 17 million Yemenis already face hunger, and the collapse of supply lines has left the UN struggling to deliver relief.

Fletcher said the Houthis’ attack on aid groups is compounding the crisis, citing the detention of 22 UN staff in recent weeks, with one dying in custody.

“Detaining humanitarian staff does not feed the hungry, heal the sick, nor protect the displaced,” he warned.

The Iran-backed Houthis, who control territory where more than 70 per cent of Yemen’s 30 million people live, have long been accused of weaponising humanitarian access.

They are also accused of imposing restrictions on aid operations, diverting food to supporters, and using relief materials as political leverage.

Due to this, Western donors have grown reluctant to keep funding programmes, especially after the US and UK redesignated the Houthis as a terrorist organisation earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s internationally recognised government in the south remains fragile and heavily dependent on Saudi Arabia and UAE support.

UN envoy Hans Grundberg told the Security Council that renewed clashes in Ma’rib, Ta’iz and Al Dhale’ threaten to escalate the war further, destabilising not only Yemen but also the wider Middle East.

The Houthis’ alliance with Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” has already increased regional tensions.

“By 2050, Yemen’s population will be as big as all the Gulf states combined. With no water, no stability, and no opportunities, neighbouring countries should be sleepless at night,” Al-Muslimi told The Telegraph.