To UN aid chief Stephen O'Brien was 'denied passage' to Yemen's city of Taiz
A UN statement affirmed that UN aid chief Stephen O’Brien was ‘denied passage’ to Yemen’s city of Taiz at the final checkpoint before crossing the frontline, despite having received assurance of safe passage by all parties. The statement did not mention the name of the party that prevented the passage but the route from the north of Taiz is controlled by rebels and their allies. The government declared in a statement to SABA that the rebels stopped the UN chief “to prevent the truth about the situation in the city, including a soffocating siege from reaching the world”. Moreover this week the UN said nearly 1,500 children were recruited between March 2015 and January 2017 and Amnesty International accused Houthis of ‘actively recruiting boys as young as 15’.