The Biden administration is withholding tens of thousands of tons of wheat destined for hungry people in northern Yemen, part of a hardball diplomatic effort to help the United Nations compel the region’s ruling Houthi rebel movement to ensure that aid is delivered to those most in need, according to several humanitarian and diplomatic sources.
The move is aimed at strengthening the World Food Programme’s leverage in stalled negotiations with the Houthi leadership over the agency’s proposal to redirect food deliveries to districts with the highest levels of acute hunger.
A senior official with the Rome-based food agency told Devex it may have to pause its aid operations if it can’t secure an agreement with the Houthis. It comes just three years after the U.S. and the U.N. suspended assistance, citing the Iranian-backed Houthis’ interference in aid delivery and theft of U.N. food.
About the author
Colum Lynch
Colum Lynch is an award-winning reporter and Senior Global Reporter for Devex. He covers the intersection of development, diplomacy, and humanitarian relief at the United Nations and beyond. Prior to Devex, Colum reported on foreign policy and national security for Foreign Policy Magazine and the Washington Post. Colum was awarded the 2011 National Magazine Award for digital reporting for his blog Turtle Bay. He has also won an award for groundbreaking reporting on the U.N.’s failure to protect civilians in Darfur.
