CAIRO (AP) 鈥 The United Nations World Food Program said Tuesday one of its staffers has died in a Yemeni prison three weeks after his detention by Houthi rebels.
The announcement came a day after the in the rebel鈥檚 stronghold in northern , over security concerns following the detentions of dozens of U.N. workers and others in recent months.
No cause of death was given in the statement. The man was one of seven WFP staffers detained by the Houthi rebels on Jan. 23.
鈥淗eartbroken and outraged by the tragic loss of WFP team member, Ahmed, who lost his life while arbitrarily detained in Yemen,鈥 WFP executive director Cindy McCain wrote on the social media platform X.
She said the worker, who is survived by his wife and two children, 鈥減layed a crucial role in our mission to deliver lifesaving food assistance.鈥
U.N. Secretary-General Ant贸nio Guterres called the death a 鈥渄eplorable tragedy鈥 and the continued detention of other staffers for the world body and aid groups 鈥渦nacceptable.鈥
鈥淭he United Nations is urgently seeking explanations from the Houthi de facto authorities,鈥 he said in a statement. 鈥淚 call for an immediate, transparent and thorough investigation and for those responsible to be held accountable.鈥
A Houthi spokesman didn鈥檛 immediately respond to requests for comment.
The 40-year-old Yemeni national, who joined the U.N. food agency in 2017, died Monday in a prison in the northern province of Saada, and the circumstances weren鈥檛 immediately known, said a WFP official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter.
Security concerns
The U.N. said Monday it was suspending its humanitarian operations in Saada after the Houthis detained eight more U.N. staffers.
A U.N. statement said the 鈥渆xtraordinary鈥 decision to pause all operations and programs in Saada was due to the lack of necessary security conditions and guarantees. It called for the Houthis to release all detained U.N. staff.
The rebels have of U.N. staffers as well as people associated with aid groups, civil society and the once-open U.S. Embassy in Sanaa, Yemen鈥檚 capital, accusing them of espionage 鈥 charges that rights groups call baseless. None of the U.N. staffers has been released.
The U.N. decision will affect the global response to one of the disasters. Seven U.N, agencies operate in Saada, including WFP, the World Health Organization and UNICEF, along with several international aid organizations, according to the U.N. humanitarian agency.
At least 350,000 people in Saada benefited from U.N.-funded assistance in 2024, including food and other life-saving support to migrants and displaced people, said U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq.
A decade of war
Yemen鈥檚 civil war began in 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels took control of Sanaa and much of the country鈥檚 north, forcing the government to flee to the south, then to Saudi Arabia.
A Saudi-led coalition entered the war in March 2015, backed at the time by the U.S., in an effort to restore the internationally recognized government to power.
The war has killed more than 150,000 people including civilians and combatants, and in recent years deteriorated largely into a stalemate.
The U.N. had projected that over 19 million people across Yemen will need humanitarian assistance this year as many deal with climate shocks, malnutrition, cholera and the economic effects of war.
