Save the Children halts north Yemen operations after staffer death

DUBAI: Save the Children is suspending its operations in northern Yemen after one of its staff died in detention in the country’s rebel-held capital, it said on Thursday.
Father-of-four Hisham Al-Hakimi, who worked as the group’s Safety and Security Director, was detained on September 9 while off duty, the British charity said.
“No charges or legal proceedings were filed by authorities or reason given for his detention in” Sanaa, which is controlled by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, the charity said in a statement.
It did not provide details on the circumstances or cause of death of Hakimi, 44, who joined the organization in 2006.
“Save the Children will be suspending operations in northern Yemen with immediate effect,” the charity said.
Yemen erupted into conflict in 2014 when Houthi rebels seized Sanaa, prompting a Saudi-led military coalition to intervene the following year to prop up the internationally recognized government.
The war has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian tragedies, with two-thirds of the population currently requiring humanitarian aid, including more than 11 million children.
From 2015 through 2022, Save the Children reached seven million people across Yemen, four million of them children, according to its website.
The suspension announced on Thursday will halt programs such as health and nutrition, education, child protection, food security and livelihoods in the country’s north, much of which is held by the Houthi rebels.
The charity’s projects in southern Yemen will be unaffected by the suspension.
The move coincides with a deepening humanitarian crisis in the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country, despite a lull in fighting since a six-month truce expired in October.

Save the Children halts north Yemen operations after staffer death