Yemeni govt says World Bank to grant $170 mn

Aden, Dec 23 (IANS) Yemen's internationally recognised government has announced that the World Bank approved two grants of $170 million for two projects in the war-ravaged country.

The Yemeni government on Wednesday said the grants will support "a second phase of the Yemen Integrated Urban Services Emergency Project II and a new rural road access project that will open up vital corridors to get food to the neediest and better connect farmers to their markets."

The newly approved funds bring the total World Bank grants for Yemen to $2.89 billion since 2016.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.

In October, the Yemeni government announced that the cumulative economic losses since the outbreak of the years-long conflict in the country exceeded $100 billion.