The UN on Tuesday (August 1st) said lack of jet fuel has hindered the ability of UN planes to bring desperately-needed humanitarian aid to the Houthi-held Yemeni capital, AFP reported.
The UN operates two humanitarian flights into Sanaa from Amman and Djibouti, but there is no jet fuel available in the Yemeni capital for the plane to make the return trip, Auke Lootsma, the country director of the UN Development Programme, said.
The fuel must be delivered to Sanaa from the port of Aden, which is controlled by the Yemeni government.
Yemen's health system has collapsed during the war pitting coalition forces backing the internationally recognized Yemeni government against Iran-backed Houthi (Ansarallah) rebels.
Describing the situation as "very bleak," the UN official said there were "several" new cases of meningitis detected in Yemen but he could not provide details.
Aid efforts are also hampered by delays and refusals of visas, by the Yemeni government and by the rebels in control of Sanaa, he added.
