By Al-Fassel and AFP | 2023-10-27

Save the Children said Thursday (October 26) it is suspending its operations in northern Yemen after one of its staff members died in detention in Houthi-held Sanaa and is calling for an "immediate independent investigation."

The news came as a Bahraini soldier died of his wounds days after an attack by Iran-backed Houthis on the Saudi Arabian border, the Gulf state's military said.

British charity Save the Children said its safety and security director Hisham al-Hakimi, a father of four, was detained on September 9 while off duty.

"Despite repeated attempts by his family, legal representation and Save the Children's teams, no one was able to see or speak with him throughout the entire period of his detention," the charity said in a statement.

"No charges or legal proceedings were filed by authorities or reason given for his detention in" Sanaa, which is controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis, it said.

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 the Houthis seized Sanaa, prompting the Saudi-led Arab coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognized government.

The Bahrain Defence Force is part of the Arab coalition.

The death of the Bahraini serviceman, who was wounded in an attack on Monday, is the Gulf state's fifth such loss in just over a month.

"Maj. Mohammed Salem Mohammed Anber passed away affected by his serious injuries as a result of the act of aggression conducted by the Houthi forces," the Bahrain Defence Force said in statement issued late Thursday.

It did not give details of the attack.

Four Bahraini soldiers died after a drone strike near the Saudi-Yemeni border late last month, in an attack that the Gulf state blamed on the Houthis.

It was Bahrain's biggest loss since five soldiers were killed in 2015.

Yemen's 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 Houthis.

The charity's projects in southern Yemen will be unaffected by the suspension.