The UN said Friday (August 9th) that it will resume food deliveries in areas controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis (Ansarallah), starting in the capital Sanaa next week, after a two-month pause, AFP reported.
The World Food Programme had halted distributions in Houthi-controlled territory in June following accusations of "diversion of food" meant for Yemeni civilians.
But in a deal signed last week, the Houthis offered guarantees concerning the beneficiaries of aid, the UN agency said.
"WFP will resume food distributions following the Eid al-Adha festival for the 850,000 people in Sanaa City who have not received food rations from WFP for the last two months," WFP spokesman Herve Verhoosel told reporters in Geneva.
The Eid festival begins on Sunday and continues to Wednesday.
Verhoosel added that WFP is also starting the roll-out of a biometric registration system targeting nine million people, which will help identify legitimate beneficiaries of food aid in Houthi-held areas.
