ADEN, Yemen, July 23 (Xinhua) -- A senior delegation of the World Food Organization (WFP) visited on Tuesday the Red Sea mills located in the war-torn port city of Hodeidah, a government official told Xinhua.

"Senior officials of the WFP paid a visit to the Red Sea Mills after completing the initial maintenance program and preparing the facility to resume production and distribution of wheat flour for the hungry people," said the official, who asked to remain anonymous.

He said that "several attacks targeted the Red Sea Mills during the previous months and suspended all operations of processing wheat flour."

Resuming the operations of the Red Sea Mills will benefit thousands of hungry families across the country's war-torn areas, he said.

Units of the pro-government forces secured the WFP team that inspected the vital institution in Hodeidah, according to the official.

Serious damage affected one of the silos containing tons of grain, causing a fire that destroyed large quantities of grain at the Red Sea Mills facility during the past few months.

In June, the WFP begun to partially suspend food assistance operations to areas of war-torn Yemen under the control of Houthi rebels, putting thousands of hungry people at risk of starvation.

The UN agency, which is feeding more than 10 million people across Yemen, repeatedly complained about some "obstructive and uncooperative" Houthi leaders who interfered with food distribution in the country's northern areas.

The Red Sea Mills belongs to Yemen's private sector and holds 51,000 metric tons of grain, which is enough to feed more than 3.7 million people for a month.

The WFP also has a number of warehouses filled with large amounts of grain at the Red Sea Mills in Hodeidah.

The Iran-allied Houthi rebels control the city while the Saudi-backed government troops have advanced to the southeastern outskirts.

Hodeidah is the key lifeline entry point for the country's most food imports and humanitarian aid. The four-year grinding war has pushed over 20 million people to the verge of starvation.

Yemeni warring parties reached a peace deal on Hodeidah in December last year as the first step toward brokering a comprehensive political solution.

Sporadic breaches are daily recorded in Hodeidah as the two belligerent sides failed to withdraw their forces in accordance with an agreement reached in the Swedish capital Stockholm. Enditem

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