WFP terminates all staff contracts in Yemen: UN official

The World Food Programme (WFP) is ending the contracts of all 365 staff in Houthi-controlled Yemen, a U.N. official told AFP on Thursday, effectively ending operations in a zone gravely afflicted by hunger.

The United Nations agency suspended work in rebel-held areas in late August after the Iran-backed Houthis detained 38 employees in a series of raids, the official said, requesting anonymity.

"These circumstances, combined with a challenging funding environment, have resulted in the need for WFP to end the contracts of 365 staff members" from the end of March, he said.

The 365 Yemeni employees constitute "all the WFP members in the areas under the control of the de facto Houthi authorities," the official added. International staff have already been pulled out.

Around 19.5 million people in Yemen, more than half the population, were in need of humanitarian assistance in 2025, according to U.N. figures. Most Yemenis live under Houthi rule.

In November, the WFP and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization named Yemen one of the countries at "imminent risk of catastrophic hunger."

However, the Houthis have repeatedly targeted U.N. agencies as part of a crackdown on alleged Israeli espionage rings since the start of the war in Gaza.

"Work stopped at our facility on Aug. 25 due to the campaign of arbitrary arrests," the official said.

Sixty-nine U.N. staff have been detained altogether, the official said, with the world body having strongly rejected allegations of spying.

The Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014, forcing out the internationally recognised government. A years-long, Saudi-led military intervention failed to dislodge them.

The war, largely on hold since a U.N.-brokered cease-fire in 2022, left hundreds of thousands dead and created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

The global aid sector is grappling with a sharp drop in funding, with key donor countries, led by the United States, slashing their contributions.