Probe food aid theft

The UN food agency yesterday threatened to suspend some aid shipments to Yemen if the Houthi militia does not investigate and stop theft and fraud in food distribution, warning that the suspension would affect some three million people. The World Food Programme’s ultimatum was an unprecedentedly strong warning, pointing to how corruption has increased the threat of famine in Yemen, which faces the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

In a letter sent to militant leader Abdul-Malek Al Houthi, WFP director David Beasley said that a survey carried by the agency showed that aid is only reaching 40 per cent of eligible beneficiaries in the rebel-held capital, Sanaa. Only a third are receiving aid in the rebels’ northern stronghold of Saada.

“If you don’t act within 10 days, WFP will have no choice but to suspend the assistance ... that goes to nearly three million people,” the letter said. “This criminal behaviour must stop immediately.” The Iran-aligned Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen, have been at war with forces loyal to the internationally recognised government after they seized the Yemeni capital in 2014.