UN sounds alarm over falling imports at crucial Yemen port

The World Food Programme warned that imports had fallen substantially in Hodeida, a vital lifeline for the embattled country, ”because of the high levels of insecurity in the city”.

"Operations at Hodeida Port have decreased by 47 percent over the past two weeks," WFP spokesman Herve Verhoosel told reporters in Geneva. 

"If this situation persists or further deteriorates, it would have (a) drastic impact on food availability and prices in the markets and (would make) it increasingly difficult for Yemeni families to afford their basic needs," he added. 

Yemen's Saudi-backed government had been waging a fierce offensive to retake the city of Hodeida from Houthi rebels but pro-government forces suspended hostilities in Hodeida after heavy international  pressure.

The UN estimates that 70 percent of all imports come through Hodeida, a port in western Yemen on the Red Sea. 

Humanitarian shipments into Hodeida have remained steady over the past two weeks, but falling commercial imports could force more families to rely on food aid. 

WFP is currently supporting some eight million people in Yemen, but another 20 million rely entirely on commercial food imports. 

UN agencies say 14 million Yemenis are at risk of starvation. 

According to UN figures, more than 10,000 people have been killed since the coalition joined the conflict in 2015 to back up the government after rebels ousted it from swathes of Yemen including Sanaa, however, rights groups believe the actual death toll exceeds UN estimates by at least five times.

Largest famine in decades

The intervention has triggered what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

On Monday, reports confirmed five international charities called on the US to halt all military support for the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's rebels in order to save millions of lives.

The call comes in a joint statement Monday by the International Rescue Committee, Oxfam America, CARE US, Save the Children, and the Norwegian Refugee Council.

It says that if Washington doesn't cease its support for the coalition, "the US too, will bear responsibility for what may be the largest famine in decades".

The statement adds that 14 million people are at risk of starving to death in Yemen if the parties to the conflict don't change course immediately.

Last week, Denmark suspended arms sales to Saudi Arabia over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the second country do so after Germany.

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