WFP Says First Grain Vessel Arrives In Yemen Following Extension Of Grain Deal

A World Food Programme-chartered ship carrying Ukrainian wheat has docked in Yemen under the newly-extended Black Sea Grain Initiative, the United Nations' food agency said on Monday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th April, 2023) A World Food Programme-chartered ship carrying Ukrainian wheat has docked in Yemen under the newly-extended Black Sea Grain Initiative, the United Nations' food agency said on Monday.

"A UN World Food Programme-chartered vessel berthed today in Al Salif port in Hodeidah, carrying 30,000 metric tons of wheat grain to support humanitarian assistance in Yemen," the WFP said.

The shipment, funded by the United States, France, and Spain, will provide nearly 4 million people in the war-torn country with wheat flour for one month, the organization said.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey between Russia and Ukraine in July 2022 to facilitate exports of agricultural products from Black Sea ports during conflict.

The deal has since been extended twice, the latest time in March.

A civil war broke out in Yemen in late 2013. Houthi rebels overran the capital in 2014, forcing the government to retreat south, where a parallel administration was set up with the backing of Saudi Arabia. The UN has dubbed Yemen the world's "largest humanitarian crisis" due to heavy death toll and acute need of various kinds of assistance.