CAIRO: The United Nations food agency is shutting down its operations in northern Yemen, following restrictions imposed by Houthi militants and harassment from the Iranian-backed group, UN officials said Thursday.
The World Food Program’s move is likely to worsen the dire humanitarian conditions in the impoverished country amid the Houthis’ crackdown on UN workers and aid groups in areas under their control, as well as funding shortages.
Yemen descended into a devastating civil war in 2014, when the Houthis pushed from their northern stronghold of Saada province and seized the capital of Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognized government out and to the south, and eventually into exile.
The Houthis now control most of the country’s north, including Sanaa, while the internationally recognized government, which is backed by a Saudi-led coalition, rules the south.
According to the UN officials, the WFP’s 365 staff members in northern Yemen will lose their jobs by the end of March. One official blamed the “insecure operating environment” in the Houthi-controlled areas and lack of sufficient funding for the WFP decision.
