Berlin (dpa) – The UN World Food Programme (WFP) fears that the escalating conflict in the Red Sea will force even more people into hunger. “The world’s attention is focused on the Strait of Hormuz,” WFP Director for Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein Martin Frick told the German Press Agency. “However, the latest escalation over the Bab al-Mandab strait could strangle global trade and food supply lines even further.”
The advance of the Houthi militants
On Thursday, the conflict in Yemen escalated further as Teheran-allied Houthi militants advanced. The Islamist rebels captured an important port city in the west of Yemen, allowing them to more easily control the Bab al-Mandab strait at the southern end of the Red Sea. According to Yemeni government sources, they have now also taken control of a strategically situated island in the strait.
In 2025, Germany contributed 570 million US dollars to the WFP’s budget and was thus its third-biggest donor.
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