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First World Food Programme ship carrying aid arrives in Yemeni port

Xinhua, July 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

A World Food Programme (WFP) ship carrying badly needed food assistance on Tuesday arrived in Aden, a port city in Yemen, a UN spokesman told reporters here.

It was the first WFP-chartered ship to berth at the port since conflict erupted in Yemen in March.

"The food will provide much-needed assistance for people in contested southern governorates," Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, said at a daily news briefing here.

The ship docked at Aden's oil port of Al-Buraiqa, bringing along 3,000 metric tons of food -- enough to feed 180,000 people for one month. It had arrived off Aden on June 26, but had been forced to wait more than three weeks for a safe window to berth, according to Haq.

"WFP has made repeated attempts to send ships to Aden, all of which until today were blocked due to severe fighting in the port area," said the spokesman. "Despite insecurity and extreme difficulties reaching Aden by road, WFP has delivered food to displaced families in the governorate."

Through its local partner, WFP last reached Aden on July 14 with emergency food assistance for more than 27,000 people, he said. "More WFP-chartered ships are on stand-by near Aden carrying fuel and more food."

Meanwhile, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported that intense fighting has continued in Yemen, with at least 165 civilians, including 53 children and 23 women, killed between July 3-15, plus 210 more injuries.

"The majority of the casualties are reported to have been caused by air strikes, but civilians are also regularly being injured and killed by mortar fire and in street fighting," Haq said.

A recent food security assessment estimated the number of food- insecure people in Yemen at close to 13 million, WFP said in a press release. "This includes more than 6 million severely food insecure people who cannot survive without external assistance."

The total death toll since March 26 is now at least 1,693 civilians, with 3,829 others wounded, he noted. "Of these, at least 33 civilians were killed after a humanitarian pause was supposed to have taken effect on July 11."

WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food in emergencies and working with communities to build resilience. In 2013, WFP assisted more than 80 million people in 75 countries. Endite