International agencies, including the UN, have condemned the blockade, which has left millions unable to receive aid

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Saudi Arabia appears to have succumbed to growing international pressure and agreed to re-open the key Yemeni port of Hodeidah to food aid and commercial fuel for a minimum of 30 days.

Aid agencies, including the UN, have been warning that a month-long blockade on the port was cutting off aid to nearly 70% of those desperately in need of humanitarian relief. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in March 2015 to defeat Houthi rebels and restore the UN-recognised government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, but neither of those objectives has been met, and the war recently dragged past its 1,000th day.

Saudi Arabia has previously promised to open the ports, but a further closure within the 30-day period would cause a major political problem, not just for Yemen, but also UK-Saudi relations.

'Only God can save us': Yemeni children starve as aid is held at border Read more

In a statement published on the Saudi government-run news agency, the coalition leadership said: “The port of Hodeidah will remain open for humanitarian and relief supplies and the entry of commercial vessels, including fuel and food vessels, for a period of 30 days.”

UK government officials said ministers had presented operational details to Saudi officials on ships waiting for clearance, and this had helped lift restrictions on three commercial food ships and one fuel ship.

The officials said the first fuel vessel to be cleared to enter Hodeidah in over a month was due to dock in the next 24 hours. Fuel is vital to pump water, transport food and mill grain. Yemen aid agencies on the ground also said they expected shipments to start moving shortly.

The foreign secretary Boris Johnson tweeted: “I am very pleased at today’s announcement by the Saudi-led Coalition that Hodeidah port in Yemen is open again. I have been urging this step for some time, and I hope this will start to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people and get them the supplies they desperately need.”

British ministers will be furious if the latest commitments prove worthless.

Timeline Yemen since the Arab spring Show Hide Arab spring protests erupt against Ali Abdullah Saleh, in power in Yemen since 1978. He agrees to step down in return for immunity from prosecution Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Saleh’s former deputy, succeeds him as president. Anti-Hadi protests hit the capital, Sana’a, after a cut to government fuel subsidies sharply increases fuel prices. Houthi rebels take control of most of Sana’a and form an anti-Hadi alliance with forces loyal to Saleh. The Saleh-Houthi forces seize the presidential palace in Sana’a and Hadi flees to Aden, Yemen’s second city. Saudi Arabia enters the war at the head of a nine-country coalition bombing the rebels in defence of Hadi’s internationally-recognised government. The UN puts the death toll at 10,000 since the Saudi intervention. Saudi Arabia tightens its blockade on Yemen, including of humanitarian aid, after a rocket fired from the country falls close to Riyadh. Saleh reaches out to the Saudi-led coalition, offering to “turn the page” if it lifts the blockade. The Houthis accuse him of a “coup against our alliance” and ambush his convoy as it flees Sana’a, killing him. A major Saudi-led coalition assault on the port city of Al Hudaydah begins, codenamed Operation Golden Victory.

Houthi drones attack two oil pumping stations inside Saudi Arabia, damaging pipelines. The UAE withdraws most of its forces from the Saudi-led coalition.

The Saudis may feel they are making military advances, and the future of Hodeidah is a distraction over the next month as it seeks to persaude the international community that Iran has been responsible for the scale of the Houthi resistance.

But Theresa May also spoke to the US President Donald Trump about the blockade on Tuesday. International development secretary Penny Mordaunt told the Saudis that they had no excuse to cut off humanitarian aid in a visit to Riyadh on Monday.

Theresa May also spoke to the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman by phone and welcomed the Saudi decision to reopen the port. According to Downing Street, she said that British officials have travelled to the region to “assist with the UN inspection process, helping to speed up the distribution of much-needed humanitarian and commercial supplies”.

She also confirmed the Crown Prince will be visiting the UK in the New Year.

Johnson has insisted Yemen is his number one foreign policy priority, and the Saudi refusal to respond to Western pressure was beginning to cause a major diplomatic rift.

Saudi Arabia has claimed the blockade has been necessary since arms and ammunitions designed for the Houthi rebels were being smuggled onto the aid ships, requiring a tighter new UN-monitored inspections regime. No ship is allowed into Hodeidah unless the Saudis give the cargo permission to dock, and it has been claiming that most ships have not been subject to sufficient inspection.

Houthis have three times fired long-range missiles towards Riyadh, provoking international condemnation. Saudi Arabia claims the missiles are Iranian-supplied missiles, but Tehran has rejected the allegation.