Story highlights Trump will ask Saudis to let supplies reach "people who desperately need it"

A Saudi-led coalition has been fighting Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen

(CNN) President Donald Trump said his administration would be calling on Saudi Arabia to end its blockade of Yemeni ports in order to allow critically needed supplies to reach the besieged population of the country, which has been ravaged by civil war and famine.

"I have directed officials in my Administration to call the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to request that they completely allow food, fuel, water, and medicine to reach the Yemeni people who desperately need it," Trump said in his brief written statement Wednesday. "This must be done for humanitarian reasons immediately."

The statement did not indicate who would make the calls. CNN reached out to the State Department on Wednesday, but did not immediately receive a response.

A Saudi-led coalition has been fighting Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen for more than two years. They closed the ports last month after the Houthis fired a ballistic missile toward an airport in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, thereby blocking shipments of food and medicine and triggering broad international outrage.

More recently, Saudi Arabia has taken steps to lift the blockade, allowing initial shipments of supplies to reach the country last week.

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