![This photograph, taken on November 7th, shows part of the Red Sea port of al-Hodeida, which recently reopened to allow aid into the war-torn country. [Abdo Hyder/AFP]](/cnmi_am/images/2017/12/20/10788-Yemen-Hodeida-port-700_496.webp)
The Arab coalition's decision to reopen a port and airport in Yemen to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid will alleviate human suffering and give a boost to relief efforts, Yemeni officials and experts told Al-Mashareq.
On November 22nd, the coalition announced it would reopen the key Red Sea port of al-Hodeidah and Sanaa airport to aid following a more than two-week blockade imposed after the Houthis fired a missile towards Riyadh.
The coalition said it would open al-Hodeida port to receive "urgent humanitarian and relief materials" and Sanaa airport to UN aircraft from noon November 23rd.
On November 6th, the coalition decided to close all air, land and sea ports to Yemen to stop the flow of arms from Iran to the Houthis after Saudi Arabia intercepted a missile fired at its capital, Riyadh.
Since then, a second missile targeted Riyadh on December 19th, which Saudi Arabia said it "intercepted and destroyed".
Yemeni Minister of Local Administration and head of the Higher Committee for Relief Abdul Raqeeb Saif Fateh told Al-Mashareq he was pleased with the coalition's decision to reopen the sea port and airport.
"This decision stems from humanitarian responsibilities towards the Yemeni people, who are suffering as a consequence of the Houthi coup," he said.
"The humanitarian situation in Yemen calls for concerted international efforts to support relief efforts in the country," he added, calling on the UN to make every effort to expedite the delivery of aid.
Alleviating human suffering
The coalition's reopening of al-Hodeidah port and Sanaa airport, even as the Houthis continue to fire missiles into Saudi territory, is commendable, lawyer and human rights activist Abdul Rahman Barman told Al-Mashareq.
The move came "in response to humanitarian and human rights demands to alleviate the humanitarian suffering", he said, noting that the coalition "was quick to reopen the land, air and sea ports that are under the legitimate government’s control".
The Yemeni government has guaranteed the free movement of goods arriving at the port of Aden to all provinces of Yemen, he said, including the areas controlled by the Houthis.
"The Arab coalition needs to be handling the situation in Yemen with a high sense of responsibility," political analyst and writer Waddah al-Jalil told Al-Mashareq.
But certain obstacles are hindering the relief efforts, he said, noting that "these efforts are not at the required level at this time for several reasons".
The Houthis are reaping political benefits from the coalition’s relief efforts, as they are "selling the aid and taking advantage of the situation to smuggle weapons", he said, which puts the coalition in a difficult situation.
There also is a shortage of local agencies to deliver the aid and ensure it makes its way into the hands of those who need it most, he added.
