The United Nations World Food Programme said on Tuesday that one of its staff members had died in detention in northern Yemen, where the U.N. has repeatedly called for the Houthi movement to free detained U.N. employees.
WFP did not specify when or how its employee, who it said had been detained on January 23 with six others, had died © Mena Today
The United Nations World Food Programme said on Tuesday that one of its staff members had died in detention in northern Yemen, where the U.N. has repeatedly called for the Houthi movement to free detained U.N. employees.
WFP did not specify when or how its employee, who it said had been detained on January 23 with six others, had died.
The United Nations paused all operations in Yemen's Sa'ada region on Monday after more U.N. staff were detained by the Houthi authorities, deputy U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq said.
"Heartbroken and outraged by the tragic loss of WFP team member, Ahmed, who lost his life while arbitrarily detained in Yemen. A devoted humanitarian and father of 2, he played a crucial role in our mission to deliver lifesaving food assistance", WFP Chief Cindy McCain said in a post on X.
The Iran-aligned Houthis have controlled most populated parts of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, since seizing power in 2014 and early 2015. Since 2021 the Houthis have detained dozens of U.N. staff. The group now has some 24 U.N. staff in detention.
Yemen has been the focus of one of the world's largest humanitarian operations during a decade of civil war that disrupted food supplies. WFP says it provided assistance to 15.3 million people, or 47% of the population, in 2023.
Reporting by Jana Choukeir and Mohammed Ghobari
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, on Friday condemned Israel’s newly approved plan for a full-scale military takeover of Gaza City, warning it would lead to more “deaths and suffering” and must be halted “immediately.”
The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group has not received an invitation to peace talks with the Democratic Republic of Congo scheduled to begin in Doha on Friday, its leader Bertrand Bisimwa told reporters on Thursday.
The United States has presented Lebanon with a proposal for disarming Hezbollah by the end of the year, along with ending Israel's military operations in the country and the withdrawal of its troops from five positions in south Lebanon, according to copy of a Lebanese cabinet agenda reviewed by Reuters.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.