WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Arab coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen has established three safe corridors for civilians to travel between the cities of Sana'a and Hodeidah. Spokesman Col. Turki Al-Maliki said on Monday that the corridors between the former capital that was seized by the Houthi militia in 2014 and the country's biggest port on the Red Sea have been set up in cooperation with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

"The coalition is working with OCHA in Yemen to establish safe humanitarian corridors to help in the delivery of aid... between Hodeidah and Sanaa," Al-Maliki told a press conference in Riyadh.  Al-Maliki said progress in Hodeidah has been slow because the Coalition wants to avoid harming civilians there. He said the Iranian-backed Houthi militia continues to use civilians as human shields in the city of Hodeidah and has taken oil tankers heading for Sana'a. He also accused the Iranian regime of continuing "to violate international law and destabilize the security of the region and the world."  Al-Maliki also reported that the coalition had discovered what was thought to be an Iranian-registered commercial ship but was actually a military ship named Safiz. The Iranian vessel is monitoring ships passing through the Strait of Bab Al-Mandeb by using listening devices.

He said the coalition will continue to watch "suspicious" ships that threaten international navigation.  Al-Maliki said the corridor being opened in Hodeidah is part of an effort to ensure the safety of civilians. Corridors will be on different routes between the cities for the transportation of humanitarian aid between 6 am and 6 p.m. daily.    An United Nation's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) statement confirmed the organization was in "ongoing discussions with the coalition and other stakeholders on safe, reliable access routes into and out of Hodeidah."

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SOURCE Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Information Office