Yemen: Sea, air, and land embargo

On 6 November the Saudi Arabia-led military coalition announced a temporary closure of all Yemen’s airports, seaports and land crossings, effectively halting access to commercial and humanitarian goods to 27 million people. The blockage was announced after Houthis launched a missile from Yemen targeting Riyadh airport, Saudi-Arabia on 4 November. Yemen is heavily reliant on imports for around 80-90% of its food, fuel and medical needs. On 13 November, Hadi government-controlled ports in Aden, Mokha and Mukalla as well as al Wadea land crossing were reopened. Al Hudeidah and Saleef ports, on Houthi controlled area, which process 80% of commercial and humanitarian imports, remain closed. Government-controlled ports cannot function as substitutes for the country’s main ports due to their limited offload and storage capacity. The location of these ports would require the crossing of conflict frontlines to reach the northern areas most heavily affected by food insecurity and cholera. Prior to the current blockade, the Saudi-led coalition had imposed a naval blockade on Yemen's coast, and restricted travel by air, land, and sea, therefore severely restricting the inflow of commercial and humanitarian cargo for the last two and a half years. This has left the country with critically low stocks of necessary goods, reducing capacity to cope under the current conditions.