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The reopening of Yemen's main port by Saudi Arabia will not be enough to avert famine in the country unless all restrictions are lifted and commercial goods allowed in, aid agencies say.
Key points:
- Aid agencies say it is good news but they are waiting on more details
- Over 130 children were already dying a day before the blockade
- Rights groups say Yemen is the world's worst humanitarian crisis
On Monday, the Saudi-led military coalition announced it would allow aid to re-enter Yemen's main port and United Nations flights to resume, more than two weeks after they imposed a total blockade on the country.
The UN and international aid agencies have repeatedly urged the coalition to lift the Yemen blockade.
"It is good news, but we are still waiting to see the specific details," Jamie McGoldrick, the UN's humanitarian chief for Yemen,said.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) described the move as a "half measure at best" warning that aid alone cannot feed the country.
"We cannot celebrate this partial easing of access restrictions," Paolo Cernuschi, Yemen's IRC director, said.
"Access by commercial shipments of food and fuel must be resumed immediately, otherwise this action will do little to turn Yemen back from the brink of famine and crisis."
'Over 130 children dying a day': Save The Children
Caroline Anning from Save the Children said if the move does not include commercial supplies then there is still the strong potential of famine in Yemen.
"If its just a small, short-term announcement of humanitarian aid being allowed in, that certainly will not be enough to avert famine," she said.
"Before this blockade even started our team estimated that 130 children a day were dying of preventable disease and hunger in Yemen."
Oxfam described said the move was an "empty gesture while millions of Yemenis see their lives threatened by the two-week blockade on the country".
"Reopening the ports to aid but not to commercial imports is pitiful bartering with people's lives," Shane Stevenson, Oxfam's director in Yemen, said.
"We're facing the worst famine seen in decades, and that won't change unless commercial shipments of food and fuel are allowed in.
"This brinksmanship has to stop. All sea and air ports must be fully reopened immediately to both humanitarian and commercial access to save millions of innocent Yemeni people."
Yemen 'the world's worst humanitarian crisis'
About 7 million people in Yemen — out of a population of 27 million — depend entirely on food aid and 4 million rely on aid groups for clean water.
The Saudi-led coalition tightened a blockade of the Arab world's poorest country earlier this month, after a missile assault by Shiite rebels that targeted the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
The missile was struck down but it was the farthest a projectile by the rebels, also known as Houthis, had penetrated into the kingdom.
In response, ships were ordered to leave the Red Sea ports of Hodeida and Salef, the only lifeline to northern Yemen where most of the population lives — the two ports are under the control of the Houthis.
The conflict in Yemen pits Houthi rebels and forces loyal to Yemen's ousted president against the internationally recognised government and its main backer, the Saudi-led coalition.
For more than two years, airstrikes and ground fighting have left over 10,000 people dead, driven 3 million from their homes, and destroyed the country's already fragile infrastructure.
International aid groups describe Yemen as the world's worst humanitarian crisis as millions are at risk of famine.
Topics: famine, unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, yemen, saudi-arabia