Four aid planes carrying vaccines, urgent relief supplies and international humanitarian aid workers arrived in the Yemeni capital on Saturday, marking the end of a much-criticized blockade of the airport by a Saudi-led coalition.

Three of the planes were from the UN, while the fourth was sent by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The coalition closed all airports and ports in Yemen on November 5 in response to a missile fired by Houthi rebels at the Saudi capital, Riyadh, the day before, saying it was to stop the rebels receiving arms from Iran.

Millions in Yemen are suffering from malnutrition

The UN humanitarian affairs office said on Friday it had received clearance for flights into Sanaa, but that shipments of food and medicine to the vital rebel-held Red Sea port of Hodeida remained blocked.

Read more: Yemen: Between conflict and collapse

Deadly famine and epidemics

Aid groups had warned that the blockade would greatly aggravate the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, where some 7 million will face famine amid the country's long-running civil war unless they receive international help .

Watch video 02:05 Share Middle East: proxy conflicts Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/2nR19 Tensions run high between Saudi Arabia and Iran

The World Health Organization confirmed earlier this week that diptheria was spreading owing to a lack of vaccines, while more than 2,000 people have died of cholera this year.

The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2015 in a bid to prevent Tehran, Riyadh's archrival, from gaining a foothold in the region.

Read more: Hunger and disease hit Yemen hard amid a 'forgotten conflict'

Yemen: An ever-worsening crisis War: The 'root cause' of Yemen's disasters The UN has identified conflict as the "root cause" of Yemen's crises. Tens of thousands of people have been killed since the war erupted in 2014, when Shiite Houthi rebels launched a campaign to capture the capital, Sanaa. In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition launched a deadly campaign against the rebels, one that has been widely criticized by human rights groups for its high civilian death toll.

Yemen: An ever-worsening crisis Fighting keeps food from the famished The conflict has prevented humanitarian aid from reaching large parts of the civilian population, resulting in more than two-thirds of the country's 28 million people being classified as "food insecure." Nearly 3 million children and pregnant or nursing women are acutely malnourished, according to the UN World Food Program.

Yemen: An ever-worsening crisis Displacement: Converging crises More than 3 million people have been displaced by conflict, including marginalized communities such as the "Muhammasheen," a minority tribe that originally migrated from Africa. Despite the civil war, many flee conflict in Somalia and head to Yemen, marking the convergence of two major migration crises in the Middle East nation. Yemen hosts around 250,000 Somali refugees, according to UNHCR.

Yemen: An ever-worsening crisis Cholera: A deadly epidemic The number of suspected cholera cases has exceeded more than 2 million and least 3,700 people have died from the waterborne bacterial infection in Yemen since October 2019, said the WHO. Although cholera can be easily treated, it can kill within hours when untreated.

Yemen: An ever-worsening crisis Unsuspecting victims of the'war on terror' In Yemen, violence goes beyond civil conflict: It is considered a strategic front in the war on terrorism. The country serves as the operational base for al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, dubbed the "most dangerous" terrorist group before the rise of the "Islamic State." The US routinely uses drones to target al-Qaida leadership. However, civilians have often been killed in the operations.

Yemen: An ever-worsening crisis Children's fate: Future marred by tragedy In a country paralyzed by conflict, children are one of the most at-risk groups in Yemen. More than 12 million children require humanitarian aid, according to the UN humanitarian coordination agency. The country's education system is "on the brink of collapse," while children are dying of "preventable causes like malnutrition, diarrhea and respiratory tract infections," according to the agency.

Yemen: An ever-worsening crisis Peace: An elusive future Despite several attempts at UN-backed peace talks, the conflict continues to rage on. Saudi Arabia has vowed to continue supporting the internationally recognized government of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. On the other hand, Houthi rebels have demanded the formation of a unity government in order to move forward on a political solution. A peace deal, however, remains elusive. Author: Lewis Sanders IV



tj/rc (AFP, dpa, Reuters)