Riyadh, May 13 (IANS) Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saudi on Wednesday allocated one billion riyals ($265 million) for a Yemen relief centre in the kingdom, media reported.
The additional relief fund, together with the previously pledged $274 million, has doubled the total amount of Saudi aid money to the country Riyadh has been bombing since late March, Saudi Press Agency reported.
Earlier in April, Saudi Arabia said it would fund the entire $274 million demanded by the UN to help victims of the war in Yemen.
The UN said the money would meet the life-saving and safety needs of 7.5 million people affected by a worsening humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
On Tuesday, the Saudi-led coalition announced a five-day ceasefire in Yemen that has become effective. The Saudi-proposed truce has been accepted by Yemen’s Shia Houthi Ansarullha group to allow deliveries of desperately needed relief supplies.
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabiah, the royal court advisor, said the Yemen relief centre would exert maximum effort in collaborating with the UN to deliver the aid as soon as possible.