GENEVA 

The United Nations has regained its access to the Red Sea mills grains in war-torn Yemen for the first time in six months, the UN chief announced on Tuesday.

“I just received an important piece of good news, for the first time in six months, finally it was possible for us to reach the so-called Red Sea mills which are important infrastructure in relation to distribution of namely essential food and other elements,” said the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

“So at least slowly some progress is being made,” Guterres said in his speech at a high-level UN pledging conference for Yemen in Geneva.

Earlier this month, Mark Lowcock, UN Emergency relief chief, said that nearly 10 million people across Yemen remained “just a step away from famine” because the large food depot -- Red Sea mills -- on the outskirts of Hudaydah had been "out of bounds" since last September.

UN calls for $4 billion aid for Yemen

The UN chief called on the international community to help 15 million civilians in Yemen.

“The 2019 Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen requires $4 billion to reach 15 million people across the country,” he said.

"Tens of thousands of people have been killed or injured since the conflict escalated, many of them civilians, and many more have died from preventable diseases, exacerbated by malnutrition,” Guterres added.

“Twenty million people cannot reliably feed themselves or their families. And almost 10 million are just one step away from famine,” he added.

“Some 360,000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, fighting for their lives every day. And one credible report put the number of children under 5 who have died of starvation at more than 80,000,” the UN chief said.

Guterres urged all parties to continue their talks for "lasting peace”.

“The UN-brokered Stockholm Agreement reached in December 2018 and Security Council resolution 2451 endorsing that agreement, led to a ceasefire in Hudaydah that with all the problems we know continues basically to hold,” he said.

“And the newly-established United Nations Mission to support the Hudaydah Agreement is working closely with the parties to achieve progress towards the redeployment of forces and the opening of humanitarian corridors,” he added.

Yemen has been wracked by violence since 2014 when the Shia Houthi group overran much of the country.

The crisis escalated in 2015 when the Saudi-led coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.

On Dec. 13, Yemeni peace talks held in Sweden concluded with a ceasefire deal in Al-Hudaydah between Houthis and the Yemeni government.

The warring parties, however, have failed to withdraw from the city amid accusations of breaching the agreement.