Hudaydah port and province is controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthis and has been the entry point for 70 percent of Yemen’s food supplies.

:: An official source from the Arab Coalition welcomed the statements of the UN envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed in the Security Council, in which he called on the Houthi militias to hand over the Yemeni port of Hudaydah to a neutral party.

The source said these statements are a confirmation of the previous claims made by the coalition, which called for the United Nations to take charge of port supervision to protect the Yemeni people from the smuggling of weapons carried out by the militias, and the confiscation of humanitarian aid and medical access through the port.

The source pointed out that the result reached by the UN envoy, is the same “which we called and stressed the importance of taking early to protect the Yemeni people.”

Ould Cheikh expressed his regret over the lack of participation of the Houthi militias and the forces of ousted president Ali Abduallah Saleh in a meeting to discuss this proposal in order to exploit the port for the introduction of humanitarian materials and commercial products.

The source said that the international envoy to Yemen said in his briefing to the Security Council the importance of using customs and tax revenues from the port of Hudaydah to finance salaries and basic services instead of exploiting them for war or personal benefits.

The source renewed the call of the Arab Coalition for the Support of Legitimacy government in Yemen to pressure the Houthis and force them to implement all relevant international resolutions, especially resolution 2216.

The source confirmed the readiness of the Coalition to support the relief efforts to ensure the flow of medical and food aid to the port of Hudaydah for the Yemeni people to access humanitarian relief.