WFP PBB Staff Died In Prisoners In Yemen

WFP/PHOTO Office via Wikimedia Commons

JAKARTA - The United Nations (UN) World Food Program (WFP) said one of its staff members was killed in detention in northern Yemen.

The United Nations has repeatedly called for the Houthi movement to release detained UN employees.

The WFP did not specify when or how its staff, who were detained on January 23 along with six other people, died.

UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said the UN stopped all operations in Yemen's Sa'ada region on Monday after more UN staff were detained by the Houthi authorities.

Chaotic and angry over the tragic loss of WFP team member Ahmed, who lost his life while being held arbitrarily in Yemen. A loyal humanitarian and father of 2 children, he played an important role in our mission to provide life-saving food assistance," said WFP chairman Cindy McCain.

Iran's allied Houthi group has controlled much of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, since seizing power in 2014 and early 2015. Since 2021, the Houthi group has detained dozens of UN staff. The group is now detaining 24 UN staff.

Yemen has been the focus of one of the world's largest humanitarian operations for a decade of civil war disrupting food supplies. The WFP said it provided assistance to 15.3 million people, or 47 percent of the population by 2023.