NEW YORK CITY: The UN on Friday expressed grave concern about the seizure by the Houthis in Yemen of a key humanitarian compound in the Red Sea port city of Mokha.
Officials warned that the loss of the facility threatened aid operations for vulnerable Yemeni communities, even as tens of thousands more families flee escalating violence.
“We are gravely concerned by the seizure of a key humanitarian common premises and its assets in Mokha, by the Houthi de facto authorities,” UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters in New York. The compound had served as a base for staff from several UN agencies that were delivering humanitarian assistance in the area, he added.
All UN workers left the compound before it was taken and were safe and accounted for, Haq said. But he stressed that humanitarian premises and assets “must be respected and protected at all times,” and called for safe and unimpeded humanitarian access “so that life-saving assistance can continue to reach people in need, particularly at this critical time.”
The seizure of the compound came as Houthi forces sweep through Mokha and surrounding areas along Yemen’s western coast.
Haq said 18,000 additional households had been displaced since the start of this month, and civilians were moving toward the governorates of Taiz, Aden, Lahj and Abyan. He added that access restrictions and funding constraints were hampering the humanitarian response; 15,000 emergency kits prepared for rapid distribution are stuck in Aden because of damage to roads, while operations in Mokha’s seaport, which was badly damaged during the recent fighting, remain suspended.
Asked by Arab News about the UN presence in the areas that are receiving displaced people, Haq said no employees remain in Mokha itself, though the UN still has international staff and a larger contingent of national workers elsewhere in affected governorates.
“There are 12 people in Taiz, 11 in Al-Turbah, and those are all national staff,” he added.
Pressed on security arrangements for UN personnel, given prior attacks on humanitarian workers in Yemen, Haq told Arab News that the organization’s Department of Safety and Security was closely monitoring developments and would continue to review the UN’s posture and footprint.
“The safety of our staff, including our national staff, remains our paramount concern,” he added.
