Turkey to send humanitarian aid to Yemen

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

A Yemeni man unloads medical aid boxes from a boat carrying 460 tonnes of Emirati relief aid that docked in the port of the city of Aden, on May 24, 2015. AFP Photo

Turkish authorities said May 27 that Ankara is planning to send humanitarian aid to Yemeni people in need.

The Foreign Ministry said it had already distributed “humanitarian aid, mainly food, to Yemeni refugees in Djibouti over the past week. In a statement, the ministry said an additional “four tons of medicines were shipped yesterday [Tuesday] in a Turkish Airlines plane to Djibouti.”

The statement added that Turkey is planning to send humanitarian aid from Djibouti to Yemen by sea in the coming days, despite the ongoing conflict in the country. 

The Foreign Ministry also stated that Turkey wants “legitimate state authority” to be established as soon as possible in Yemen.

Fractious Yemen has remained in turmoil since last September, when Houthi rebels overran the capital Sanaa, from which they have sought to extend their influence to other parts of the country.

On March 25, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies began an extensive military campaign targeting Houthi positions across Yemen.

Riyadh says its anti-Houthi campaign comes in response to appeals by embattled Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi - currently in Riyadh – for military intervention against the Shia group.

The Houthis, however, denounce the offensive as unwarranted “Saudi-American aggression” against Yemen.