The local authorities in Yemen’s western Hodeidah governorate accused the Houthi group on Friday of looting medical and aid facilities in the Khokha district and areas along the western coast, warning that targeting these facilities threatens the delivery of aid and basic services to thousands of civilians and displaced people.
Humanitarian facilities and programmes looted
The local authorities said in a statement that several humanitarian facilities and programmes supported by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre had been subjected to attacks, looting and vandalism. They said the affected facilities included medical clinics and warehouses designated for food and shelter, as well as a water-supply project serving residents in Khokha and coastal areas.
According to the statement, disrupting these facilities and programmes would worsen the suffering of civilians and displaced people amid the prevailing humanitarian conditions, given their role in providing essential health, relief and water services. The local authorities said the damage caused by these actions directly affects patients, displaced people and the most vulnerable families.
The statement said that medical clinics funded by the King Salman Centre had provided free services to about a quarter of a million beneficiaries annually over the past several years. The local authorities warned that looting the clinics’ warehouses and disrupting their operations would deprive tens of thousands of beneficiaries of essential health and relief services on which they had relied.
Calls to protect facilities and workers
The Hodeidah local authorities called on international bodies, donors and the United Nations to fulfil their responsibilities in protecting humanitarian facilities and work to ensure the continuation of their activities away from threats and interference, so as to guarantee the delivery of aid to civilians, displaced people and families in need.
The statement said that targeting medical facilities, aid organisations and humanitarian workers constituted a violation of international humanitarian law. The local authorities called for the necessary measures to protect the facilities and their workers and to ensure the continued provision of healthcare and humanitarian assistance to those in need in Khokha and areas along the western coast.
