The German government is calling on the Houthi rebels in Yemen to immediately ensure humanitarian access to the besieged city of Tais, where over 800,000 people are trapped and facing shortages of food and medicine. This was stated by a spokesperson for the Federal Foreign Office to the dts news agency on Monday.
The spokesperson highlighted that the Houthis have been acting “with no regard for the civilian population.” The federal government has already engaged in diplomatic efforts concerning the situation. Specifically, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) consulted with his counterparts from France, Great Britain, Italy, Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey in Istanbul last Friday regarding the situation in Yemen. Furthermore, State Minister Güler received the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, for a discussion about the crisis and reviewed potential additional support options for Yemen in mid-October.
The spokesperson added that Germany is working to implement these options and broadly support the international organizations providing aid, while also striving to expand the scope of that assistance. However, the United Nations cannot “fight for” the requested humanitarian access.
Regarding the ongoing talks in Tehran, the German government remains cautious. “We are aware of them and we will see what comes out of it,” the spokesperson told the dts news agency.
