UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Government officials of Saudi Arabia have told the United Nations that the Saudi-led military coalition would reopen two Yemeni seaports and the airport at Sanaa, which are lifelines for the shipment of humanitarian supplies to the war-torn country, said a UN spokesman on Wednesday.
"We've received information from our Saudi counterparts indicating that they are willing to open up over the next day the ports of Hudaydah and al Saleef as well as the airport at Sanaa," Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, told reporters.
"We are monitoring this development and we are trying to see whether that actually takes place on the ground," he told a daily press briefing.
If that were to happen, that would be a very welcome and critically important development -- we've made clear the tremendous amount of needs on the ground, said Haq. "We are ready to help if the ports are open. We'll keeping tracking this and see where we will go from there."
The United Nations has repeatedly demanded the reopening of those crucial ports given their irreplaceable role in handling the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
The Saudi-led military coalition, which is fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen and is trying to restore the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, blocked land, sea and air access to Yemen on Nov. 6, two days after Saudi Arabia intercepted a missile launched by Houthi rebels toward the Saudi capital city of Riyadh.
Although the Saudi-led military coalition agreed to partially lift the blockade a week later, the three key ports remained closed, severely impeding efforts to help millions of Yemenis who were on the brink of famine.
More than 20 million Yemenis, over half of whom are children, are in need of urgent assistance. Some seven million people are totally dependent on food assistance, said the United Nations.
