Yemeni Industry Minister Tells AWP He Fears Houthi Attacks Could Lead to Famine
(AWP) - Yemeni Minister of Industry and Trade, Mohammed Hizam al-Ashwal, said that the Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea have impacted the prices of basic commodities, expressing his fear that his country could potentially enter a famine due to the depletion of food stocks in Yemen.
Over the past few days, both the United States and Britain have launched strikes on Houthi targets with the aim of disrupting and weakening the group’s ability to threaten navigation in the Red Sea and undermine global trade.
The Houthis claim they target ships owned or operated by Israeli companies or transporting goods to and from Israel, in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, which has been under Israeli war since October 7.
The Yemeni minister told AWP in an interview on Sunday, “The Houthi militias are taking the events in Gaza as the main headline or slogan for these campaigns, but this is a major attack, and this attack will cause the doubling of prices. It will affect the arrival of ships, vessels and food supplies to Yemen in particular and to the rest of the countries along the sea in general.”
He added, “Today, prices are rising. Commodity stocks in particular – especially basic goods – are decreasing significantly day after day due to the non-arrival of many ships that have refrained from heading in this direction as a result of the attacks carried out by the Houthi militias. This will have a significant impact both on goods in general and on basic commodities in particular.”
Al-Ashwal called for the cessation of Iran’s interference, which he says is meddling in regional affairs through proxy organisations.
He said, “We demand, as we have done before, an end to the aggression on Gaza. We also demand stopping Iran and cutting off its long arm that extends today in many countries in many places, and which is managing all these criminal acts throughout the region.”
He expressed hope that the Houthi attacks would stop, bringing an end to the soaring costs of transporting goods.
He said, “Today, insurance prices have multiplied, and transportation prices have increased. The ships that transport goods have raised the tariff amounts per container, which used to cost two or three thousand US dollars. Today they cost ten thousand dollars, and all of this is reflected in the prices of commodities, especially basic commodities and foodstuffs.”