The U.S. and Saudi Arabia Friday confiscated 17 ships loaded with food and fuel heading for Yemen, even though the vessels had the necessary permits to arrive in that country.
RELATED:
Arab League Welcomes Yemen Ceasefire
Although 14 ships carrying oil and three vessels carrying food had permits issued by the United Nations to enter Yemen, the coalition's marine forces prevented them from doing so.
"We are facing a new case of piracy by Saudi Arabia and its allies," Yemeni television station Al Masirah reported from the Al-Hudayda port.
The oil tankers were carrying 320,000 tons of fuel to this war-torn Middle Eastern country, which reported its first COVID-19 case on Friday.
According to the Yemeni Oil Company, Saudi Arabia still holds 12 oil tankers in the Al-Hudayda port.
The continued confiscation of oil in Yemeni waters will severely affect millions of civilians, especially at a time when the coronavirus is just being introduced into the country.
If COVID-19 spreads in Yemen, its effects will be catastrophic. The country is experiencing the world's worst humanitarian crisis in tghe last five years, due to a endless war.