...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the
Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is
God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews...
rebels.
The move comes at a time when Yemen's local currency has been deteriorating, increasing prices of food and fuel, and sparking fears of a worsening humanitarian crisis.
UNICEF said the decision came after it was unable to set up a call center to get feedback from beneficiaries, without providing further details.
Two individuals familiar with the program said the Iran-backed Houthi militia who control northern Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...hindered the launch of the call center because they feared it might reveal their manipulation of the cash transfers. The two spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals from the rebels.
The militia have repeatedly been accused of diverting aid to their supporters.
Last week, Houthi security authorities banned the country director of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency from returning to Yemen, according to two individuals familiar with the situation.
The agency has been under pressure from Houthis to use the rebels' beneficiary lists in aid distribution and to use Houthi-linked staffers in ADRA-run health facilities.
When ADRA chief Ephraim Palmero objected, he was notified that he wouldn't be allowed to return to the country, the individuals said.
ADRA is among the most active international relief agencies working in delivering aid to millions of impoverished Yemenis.
The suspended UNICEF payment is the third since the project was launched in August 2017. UNICEF has said the cash transfers are a "lifeline" to a third of Yemen's people and "contribute to avert the risk of famine and allowed targeted families to buy food and medicine."