The kingdom said today the coalition it heads in Yemen would also "lead the expansion of additional Yemeni ports" to receive cargo and humanitarian assistance, ensure multiple daily flights of cargo planes carrying aid from Saudi Arabia to Yemen's Marib province and establish "safe passage corridors" to ensure transportation of aid to non-governmental organisations operating inside Yemen.
Additionally, the kingdom said it will make a donation of up to USD 2 billion in fuel for the transportation of humanitarian aid.
Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia has been leading a coalition of nine Arab countries in airstrikes against Yemeni rebels and their allies, who overran Yemen's capital and forced the government into exile. The rebels, known Houthis, who are backed by Saudi rival, Iran, continue to control the capital, Sanaa, and territory in Yemen's north, which borders Saudi Arabia.
Yemen's currency slid further against the dollar late last year after the coalition blocked access to all of Yemen's ports for several weeks in response to a Houthi missile launched at the Saudi capital.
It also comes amid mounting international criticism of the Saudi-led coalition's role in the war, particularly civilian deaths caused by coalition airstrikes and the coalition's control of Yemen's ports. Yemen imports about 90 percent of the country's staple food and nearly all of its fuel and medicine, according to the UN.
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