The World Food Programme is terminating contracts for all its staff in Houthi-held areas of Yemen, a UN source in the country has told The National.
The source said the “alarming and sad” decision had been made in response to several incidents of staff being detained by the Iran-backed Houthis. It will last "until conditions change", a second UN source told The National.
The decision comes as Yemen is expected to enter "its most dangerous food security phase in years”, the world's top famine experts say.
The rebel Houthis, whose occupied territory includes the capital Sanaa, are currently holding 69 UN staff members, as well as personnel from aid organisations, charities and diplomatic missions.
The intrusions have affected several UN organisations including the World Health Organisation and Unicef, but the World Food Programme is the first to withdraw its staff from Yemen.
All of those detained are Yemeni citizens, says the UN, which describes the arrests as arbitrary. Many are being held in isolation, with families and colleagues not knowing about their whereabouts or health.
The Houthis have increasingly targeted aid workers and international organisations since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, which also prompted the group to attack Red Sea shipping in solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
They have repeatedly accused UN staff, aid workers and journalists of spying for the US and Israel – allegations the UN has strongly rejected.
Arrests surged after Israeli air strikes in August killed senior Houthi officials, including the group’s prime minister, dealing a major blow to the rebel administration in Sanaa. Meanwhile, there has been criticism of the UN internally by staff on how the body has been handling the detention situation and staff security.
The decision to scale back operations in Houthi-held areas comes amid a stark warning by aid agencies on Yemen's food crisis.
A UN-backed analysis has warned an estimated 18 million people in Yemen are expected to face worsening food insecurity by next month, while a further one million face life-threatening hunger. Meanwhile, all efforts to tackle malnutrition and food security are expected to go into reverse because of funding cuts.
“Yemen is entering its most dangerous food security phase in years,” the International Rescue Committee (IRC) said in a report released last week, warning of famine-like conditions and rising malnutrition, especially among children and women.
Nearly 80 per cent of Yemeni households assessed by the IRC reported severe hunger, and half of households with children under five reported at least one malnourished child.
Additionally, famine-like conditions are expected to develop in four districts, affecting more than 40,000 people, within the next two months – the country’s worst outlook since 2022, the IRC said.
Security concerns in Houthi-held areas had already forced the UN to reduce its presence in Yemen. In September, the world body relocated its humanitarian co-ordinator from Sanaa to Aden, the seat of Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
