On Friday, Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled Bahah declared Aden, the second largest city in the country, liberated from Houthi rebels. Following the news, Yemen's Transport Minister Badr Mubarak Ba-Salma urged international humanitarian organizations to provide the city's residents with aid, saying that the three ports in Aden were ready to receive cargo ships.
The UAE ship, carrying over 2,300 tons of medical aid, docked safely in Aden on Tuesday, the National news website reported.
A UN World Food Programme (WFP) ship, with 4,700 tons of food and pharmaceutical aid, also arrived in Aden on Tuesday. A WFP official called the delivery a major breakthrough for the humanitarian response to the needs of conflict-torn Yemen.
More than 21.1 million people – or over 80 percent of Yemen’s total population – are in need of aid, of which 13 million are faced with food shortages, according to the United Nations.
According to UN estimates, the Yemeni conflict has killed more than 3,640 people since it escalated in March, almost 1,700 of them civilians.
