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On August 18, 2023, the United Nation's World Food Program (WFP) announced in a statement published on its website that due to lack of funds, it will reduce the size of its humanitarian aid to Yemen, starting in September.[1]
Since then, Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the Supreme Political Council of Ansar Allah Movement in Yemen, has been criticizing the WFP decision, and blaming the United States for it.
Recently, Al-Houthi shared two posts on his Telegram channel addressing the WFP decision. This time, he accused the U.S. of orchestrating the decision to pressure the Yemeni people to stop their support of Gaza.
The Ansar Allah Movement, or Houthis--a proxy of Iran--has been claiming attacks on Israeli targets since the October 7 Hamas attack. The movement also hijacked an-Israeli-owned vessel in the Red Sea.
Al-Houthi: "America Is Behind The WFP Decision"
On November 28, 2023, Al-Houthi wrote on his Telegram channel, addressing the World Food Program's Executive Director, Cindy H. McCain. He wrote that according to details published by the WFP, at the end of 2022, the program had a budget surplus of over $11 billion. Therefore, the decrease in aid to Yemen is unjustified, especially considering the global decrease in food prices.[2]
Al-Houthi argued that the WFP decision to reduce aid to Yemen was an "American political decision" meant to "threaten" the people of Yemen after they extended their support to the "oppressed in Gaza and Palestine."
"America Wants To Stop Yemen's Support Of Gaza"
Two days earlier, on November 26, he shared an open letter on his Telegram channel that he wrote to the WFP. The letter is titled: "Response to the Decision to Stop Humanitarian Aid for Yemen."[3]
The letter claims that the WFP decision to stop the humanitarian aid to Yemen will severely impact the Yemeni people:
"Your decision to reduce humanitarian aid will exacerbate this humanitarian crisis and increase the suffering of millions of Yemenis.
In his letter, Al-Houthi further argued that if the WFP refused to reverse its decision, this would prove that the program is run by the U.S.
"We call on you to reconsider your decision to stop humanitarian aid, retract it, and take the necessary measures to ensure that humanitarian aid continues to be provided to deserving Yemenis, without interruption or reduction. Only in this way will the World Food Program confirm that it is not affiliated with America, which worked to stop and reduce aid. If not, the program will validate that the American administration is running it, and that it was nothing but an American tool that has now been clearly moved to pressure the Republic of Yemen to abandon its position defending the oppressed Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip by the usurping Israeli entity, as the [Houthi] leader, Mr. Abdul-Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi, has said."
[1] Wfp.org/news/wfp-facing-critical-funding-shortage-yemen-threatening-vital-food-assistance, August 18, 2023.
[2] Telegram, November 28, 2023.
[3] Telegram, November 26, 2023.
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