News - Yemen: US-Saudi aggression has destroyed more than 2,995 water facilities, including dams, barriers, pumps, tanks and irrigation channels since 2015, the Ministry of Water and Environment revealed on Sunday.

The ministry confirmed during a press conference that the US-Saudi aggression had contaminated a number of water sources in Hodeidah with chemicals and radioactive elements, and had also destroyed thousands of water sources in various governorates.

The Undersecretary of the Water Resources Authority, Abdul Karim Al-Sufyani, explained that the authority discovered chemical contamination with radioactive and heavy elements in a number of water sources in Hodeidah.

He pointed out that more than 20 million Yemenis do not have access to safe and potable water, according to the statistics of international organizations.

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Water and Environment Abdul-Salam Al-Hakimi explained that the losses of the water and environment sectors due to the war and the siege exceeded 432 billion riyals.

He pointed out that the irregular availability of diesel and its high prices led to a decrease in the capacity of water pumping systems.

The Director General of the Local Corporation for Water and Sanitation Mohammed Al-Shami confirmed that the water sector did not benefit from the truce at all, noting that the UN took advantage of the truce to announce the cessation of most forms of its aid in this sector.

Recently, the Minister of Water explained that the continued detention of fuel ships affected the operation of water and sewage equipment in various governorates. He pointed out that the suffocating blockade has affected water supplies in most governorates, causing catastrophic results on the level of public health and the environment.

Minister Al-Shurmani expressed the dissatisfaction of the water sector employees of the arbitrary practices regarding the continuation of the aggression, holding US-Saudi aggression to be fully responsible for the catastrophic effects of the blockade on water supplies, human health and the environment in general.

The water and sanitation sector institutions are unable to provide the minimum level of their services to citizens due to the lack of fuel and their high prices.

The Ministry of Water and Environment appealed to the UN and international and humanitarian organizations to intervene urgently by putting pressure on the countries of aggression to lift the siege and open the port of Hodeidah to ensure the flow of fuel supplies.

It held the US-Saudi aggression responsible for the Yemeni citizen's failure to obtain the minimum amount of drinking water and sewage services due to the siege, the intensification of the fuel crisis, the rise in prices and the prevention of the entry of fuel ships, which will have disastrous consequences for human health and the environment.