Desert locusts swarm through Yemen's capital

By Xinhua Published: Jun 25, 2020 03:31 PM

Children catch locusts in a field in Sanaa, Yemen, June 24, 2020. Hundreds of billions of desert locusts were seen swarming through the Yemeni Houthi-held capital Sanaa on Wednesday, invading crops and leaving farmers of the war-torn Arab country in despair. (Photo by Mohamed al-Azaki/Xinhua)

Hundreds of billions of desert locusts were seen swarming through the Yemeni Houthi-held capital Sanaa on Wednesday, invading crops and leaving farmers of the war-torn Arab country in despair.

The destructive insects eat vegetation and destroy farms, exacerbating the food crisis as the ongoing war has already hampered relevant precautions.

Earlier this month, the desert locusts invaded several other Yemeni provinces, according to local residents and farmers.

The shortage of pesticides because of the war has left the swarms of migratory locusts out of control.

Yemen's five-year civil war between the government forces of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the Houthi rebels has pushed more than 20 million to the brink of starvation.

A child shows locusts in a bottle in a field in Sanaa, Yemen, June 24, 2020. Hundreds of billions of desert locusts were seen swarming through the Yemeni Houthi-held capital Sanaa on Wednesday, invading crops and leaving farmers of the war-torn Arab country in despair. (Photo by Mohamed al-Azaki/Xinhua)

Children show locusts in bottles in a field in Sanaa, Yemen, June 24, 2020. Hundreds of billions of desert locusts were seen swarming through the Yemeni Houthi-held capital Sanaa on Wednesday, invading crops and leaving farmers of the war-torn Arab country in despair. (Photo by Mohamed al-Azaki/Xinhua)