Yemen calls for more humanitarian aid from Turkey

By Rauf Maltas

SANLIURFA, Turkey

Yemen is calling for more humanitarian aid and protection from Turkey, said the undersecretary of Yemen's Ministry of Local Administration.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Hasan Alsoudi said: "There is need of humanitarian aid in Yemen. People in our country are now cutting trees and eating them."

"We urgently call on all benefactors in Turkey to save even one person in Yemen.

"Especially we congratulate and thank Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for us now to collect aid in Turkey and for seriously interesting in the problems of Muslims," he stressed.

Alsoudi said the aid received from Turkey has been increasing day by day and many institutions and non-governmental organizations continue to send money to Yemen.

"Aid from Turkey continues to arrive in Yemen. We want Turkey to help more and protect Yemen," he added.

Alsoudi said 22 million people in Yemen need urgent nourishment and some 4 million people were displaced.

"We urgently need clothing, food blankets. We also urgently need education support," Alsoudi said.

Turkey’s religious body has launched an aid campaign to raise money for people in war-torn Yemen.

Launched by Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) and the Turkiye Diyanet Foundation (TDV), the campaign will collect money for Yemeni Muslims, who are struggling against starvation, disease, and civil war.

Yemen has been wracked by violence since 2014 when the Houthi rebel group overran much of the country, and the crisis escalated in when a Saudi-led coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.

Tens of thousands of people, including civilians, are believed to have been killed, and the UN estimates that around 14 million Yemenis are at risk of famine.