Grain silos outside the Yemeni port of al-Hodeidah that are vital to UN plans to feed millions were hit by gunfire just days after aid staff gained access, AFP reported Friday (May 10th).
The World Food Programme is still assessing the damage from the Thursday attack, which caused no casualties, the UN agency's senior spokesman Herve Verhoosel, said in a statement.
A WFP team finally gained access to the Red Sea Mills silos on Sunday after postponing its inspection visit for a month for security reasons.
The silos themselves are controlled by the Arab coalition fighting in support of the Yemeni government, but are close to the front line with the Iran-backed Houthis (Ansarallah) who control the port and much of the city of al-Hodeidah.
Verhoosel said the silos contained some 51,000 tonnes of grains -- enough to feed 3.7 million people for a month.
"It appears that two silos were hit, one of which contains wheat," he said. "There was no fire."
Verhoosel said the WFP was unaware who carried out the attack.
