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Yemen's Houthi rebels have confiscated telecommunications equipment and vehicles from unstaffed United Nations offices in Sanaa, the world body said in a statement Friday, decrying potential disruptions to its humanitarian work.

The Houthis have repeatedly targeted UN agencies and detained dozens of its staff as part of a crackdown on alleged Israeli espionage rings since the start of the war in Gaza.

The actions threaten to worsen access to humanitarian services and aid in Houthi-controlled areas, where most of Yemen's impoverished population lives.

On Thursday, the Houthis "entered at least six UN offices in Sanaa, all of which are currently unstaffed, and removed to an unknown location most of the telecommunication equipment in these offices and several UN vehicles", the office of the resident and humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, Julien Harneis, said in a statement on X.

The Iran-backed group did not inform the UN why it had taken the assets, the statement said.

The development came a day after a UN official told AFP that the World Food Programme was ending the contracts of all 365 staff in Houthi-controlled Yemen, citing funding challenges and an unsafe environment for employees.

The statement said the rebels had also prevented the UN Humanitarian Air Service from flying to Sanaa for more than a month, and to a government-held area not far from the capital for even longer.

"This decision further constrains the delivery of humanitarian assistance in these areas," it said.

Around 19.5 million people in Yemen -- more than half the population -- were in need of humanitarian assistance in 2025, according to UN figures.

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".

"This confiscation of UN assets and the blocking of UNHAS flights... comes at a time when humanitarian needs in Yemen, particularly in areas under their (Houthi) control, are increasing. This will make the humanitarian situation worse in those parts of Yemen," the resident coordinator's office said.

It added the actions were taken "without discussions with the UN, and therefore without any opportunity to find mutually acceptable arrangements for the delivery of assistance".

AFP