Houthi militias regularly loot aid shipments, including dates, meant for Yemeni citizens.

:: Ramadan is long over and the Houthi militias are still holding a shipment of dates provided by a Saudi citizen who donated them to poor and needy people in the city of Mahwit, in northern Yemen.

The move fits the pattern adopted by the Houthis of continuously looting aid and relief supplies meant for Yemeni families, 85 percent of whom are now under the poverty threshold, according to UN statistics.

Local sources said that since the beginning of Ramadan, Houthi militias have been holding a shipment of more than 1,000 boxes of dates, donated by a Saudi benefactor for poor families in Bahat in the Malhan district in Mahwit province that is under Houthi control.

The sources explained that the shipment was seized at one of the militias’ checkpoints in Hodeida, west of the country. They want $1 million to release the shipment although the customs duty has been paid at the borders between Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

Systematic looting

Local sources also reported that the leader of the Houthis, Ali al-Hajri, recently looted a truck loaded with basic foodstuffs and relief aid. They confirmed that the Houthi supervisors and their leaders loot and share the relief good provided by organizations and benefactors.

Militias are repeating these actions in the areas under their control. They do systematic looting of humanitarian aid and seize it, amid criticism from the legitimate Yemeni government towards the silence of the UN and international organizations regarding these criminal practices by Houthis as part of its project to starve and kill the Yemeni people.