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ADEN, Yemen, May 21-- Yemen's government on Tuesday praised the "courage and responsibility" of the World Food Program (WFP), which warned that aid distribution could be suspended in the Houthi-controlled areas due to lack of cooperation from the rebel group. The WFP said in a statement on Monday that "humanitarian workers in Yemen are being denied access to the hungry, aid convoys have been blocked and local authorities have interfered with food distribution." "Our greatest challenge does not come from the guns that are yet to fall silent in this conflict," the WFP said. "Instead, it is the obstructive and uncooperative role of some of the Houthi leaders in areas under their control." The country's capital Sanaa and most of Yemen's densely populated northern provinces are controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthi group. Commenting on the WFP's report on Houthis' diversion of humanitarian aid, Yemen's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that "it showed the courage and responsibility of the officials running the WFP in Yemen." But the ministry criticized the "the silence of some humanitarian organizations in Yemen about the Houthis' unjustified practices on diverting humanitarian aid, arresting and threating aid workers." The ministry called upon "the international community to take resolute measures to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches all those affected without any hindrance from the Houthis." | 
