Saudi-led coalition blocks UN aid staff flight carrying journalists to Yemen

DUBAI -- The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen prevented a U.N. flight carrying aid agency staff from travelling to the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa on Tuesday because three international journalists were also aboard, aviation sources said.

"The coalition claimed that the security of the journalists could not be guaranteed in rebel-controlled areas and advised the three journalists to travel on commercial flights," said Ahmed Ben Lassoued, a spokesman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Yemen.

"It's unfortunate and partially explains why Yemen, which is one of the world's largest humanitarian crises, is not getting enough attention in international media," he added.