LAHORE: Saudi Arabia on Monday said that the Arab coalition fighting the Houthi militias in Yemen is beginning to reopen airports and seaports in Yemen, following a brief closure after an Iranian-made missile attack on Riyadh.
The announcement from the Saudi mission at the United Nations came after the coalition fighting Yemen’s rebels, known as Houthis, and their allies faced widespread international criticism over the closure, with the UN and over 20 aid groups saying it could bring millions of people closer to “starvation and death.”
“The first step in this process will be taken within 24 hours and involves reopening all the ports in areas controlled by Yemen’s internationally recognised government, which the coalition backs,” the mission’s statement said.
For ports in rebel-held or disputed territories, like Hodeida, the mission said it had asked the UN to send a team of experts to discuss ways to make sure weapons can’t be smuggled in.
The Saudi-led coalition hopes that will prevent “the smuggling of weapons, ammunition, missile parts and cash that are regularly being supplied by Iran and Iranian accomplices to the Houthi rebels,” the statement said.