Yemen rebels slam WFP after Nobel Peace Prize win

Sanaa: Yemen’s rebels, previously accused of diverting humanitarian aid in the war-torn country, claimed Friday that the World Food Programme lacked neutrality, after it won the Nobel Peace Prize for fighting global hunger.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s internationally-recognised government welcomed the choice of winner, pointing to the "wise and courageous" leadership of the UN agency’s executive director, David Beasley. Iran-backed Huthi insurgents have been fighting for control of Yemen since 2014.

A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in support of the government the following year. "We find that the WFP has largely failed in the biggest task for which it was chosen (for the Nobel Peace Prize), and that is combatting hunger," Talaat al-Sharjabi, a Huthi spokesman, told AFP shortly after the announcement.