RIYADH: Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday it would transfer $2 billion toYemen’s central bank, following desperate calls for funding from thewar-torn country’s president and prime minister.

“To address the deteriorating economic situation faced by the Yemeni peopleas a result of the actions of the Iranian-backed Huthi militias, KingSalman bin Abdulaziz has issued a directive to transfer a $2 billiondeposit to the central bank of Yemen, in continuation of the kingdom’ssupport of the Yemeni people,” the interior ministry said.

Saudi Arabia, which is facing a hefty budget deficit, leads a militarycoalition that is battling the Huthi rebels in support of Yemen’sbeleaguered government.

But as the intervention nears its fourth year, the government’s authorityis still largely confined to the south, with the rebels in control of thecapital Sanaa and much of the north.

The conflict has left more than three-quarters of Yemenis in need ofhumanitarian aid and some 8.4 million at risk of famine, the UNhumanitarian affairs office said on Tuesday

In a post on Facebook, Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher shared a letterurging the government’s backers to transfer cash to the central bank to“save Yemenis from famine”.

President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi reached out to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammedbin Salman over “the economic challenges Yemen faces” in a telephone callon Tuesday, Yemen’s government-run Saba news agency said.