Turkish Red Crescent sends food aid to war-weary Yemen

EDEN: The Turkish Red Crescent on Thursday began distributing 11,000 food parcels -- weighing a total of some 440 tons -- to displaced persons in Yemen's west-central Maarib province.

Mustafa Aydin, a Red Crescent official, told Anadolu Agency that the aid was being distributed to poor families and refugees.

Distribution activities will continue until April 30 and will also cover Yemen’s Hadhramaut, Abyan, Lahij, Aden and Taiz provinces.

Yemen has been wracked by chaos since 2014, when the Houthi rebel group overran much of the country.

The following year, a Saudi-led military coalition launched a devastating air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.

Since then, thousands of people -- including numerous civilians -- are believed to have been killed in the ongoing conflict, while the UN has warned that some 14 million Yemenis remain at risk of starvation.

Since the conflict began, Turkey has been a major contributor of humanitarian aid to the war-weary country.