A/HRC/45/6 necessities, for example, the irregular payment or non-payment of salaries for most civil servants since 2016. Many Yemenis interviewed by the Group of Eminent Experts noted that even when food, water, medicine and fuel were available, they were prohibitively expensive. 1. Attacks affecting objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population 48. The Group of Eminent Experts continued to investigate a series of attacks affecting the Red Sea Mills in Hudaydah. As a major wheat storage and processing site, the significance of the Mills as a source of humanitarian relief increased during the reporting period as food insecurity worsened. 49. Between August and October 2018, when the Mills were controlled by Houthi forces, mortar shelling allegedly by Yemeni armed forces led to some shells landing inside and around the Mills compound. Mines and improvised explosive devices were allegedly planted by Houthi forces inside compound warehouses and yards. The most severe shelling happened in December 2018 and January 2019, with one incident reportedly causing serious fire damage to one silo. The most recent attacks, allegedly by the Houthis, occurred from 18 to 20 May 2020, damaging the production line and parts of the silos, resulting in the Mills not functioning for more than 10 days. These various attacks also affected the distribution of food aid, as the Mills contained – before hostilities started in Hudaydah – a quarter of the in-country stock of WFP, access to which was halted several times. Before the conflict, the Mills contained an estimated 51,000 metric tons, enough wheat to feed 3.7 million people for one month. Other reported attacks affecting WFP food storage and distribution facilities require further investigation. 50. On 16 December 2018, a coalition air strike hit a tanker transporting fresh water for a village and crops in the Wahbyia area, Sawadiyah District, Bayda’ Governorate, a rural area with no known military targets nearby. 51. Despite most damage to the Mills being caused by military operations and further investigations being needed to establish the circumstances of other attacks on WFP facilities and the water tanker, the Group of Eminent Experts considers that, in a situation of such acute food insecurity, the conduct of the parties displays a reckless disregard for the impact of their operations on the civilian population and access to food. 2. Impact of mines on access to food 52. The Group found that the use of mines has exacerbated food insecurity. In 2018 a sea mine explosion killed three fishers from Ghowaireq village, Tuhayta’ District, Hudaydah. Landmines have prevented fishers from reaching coastal areas to fish, in particular in Hudaydah, where mines riddle coastal roads and instil fear. This has affected the availability and market price of fish. The presence of landmines has also made many farmers afraid to farm their lands, or herd or graze their livestock. The deployment of mines has made struggling fishing and rural communities even poorer. 3. Interference in humanitarian aid 53. The Group of Eminent Experts documented a range of conduct by parties to the conflict amounting to the impeding of humanitarian relief supplies in violation of international norms, either by unduly restricting access or by engaging in practices that undermine the ability of humanitarian organizations to carry out their work. 54. In addition to the case documented last year, where the Group of Eminent Experts found that no legitimate justification existed for the Houthis to deny WFP access to the Mills between January and May 2019, the Group examined reports of burdensome requirements imposed by the Houthis on humanitarian agencies in relation to permits, access, management, and operations. While parties to a conflict are entitled to oversee the delivery of assistance, bureaucratic requirements cannot unjustifiably delay or impede access. The Group also received allegations that both the Houthis and the Government of Yemen had imposed conditions that food distribution projects include beneficiaries considered loyal to the relevant party. 9