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3. World Food Program Terminates All Staff Contracts in Rebel-Held Yemen: UN Official

The World Food Programme is ending the contracts of all 365 staff in Houthi-controlled Yemen, a UN 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 UN figures. Most Yemenis live under Houthi rule.

In November, the WFP and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization named Yemen as one of the countries with populations at "imminent risk of catastrophic hunger".

However, the Houthis have repeatedly targeted UN 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 August 25 due to the campaign of arbitrary arrests," the official said.

Sixty-nine UN 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 UN-brokered ceasefire 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.

AFP