By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2025-10-08

The Iran-backed Houthi group is using starvation as a deliberate tactic to exert pressure in areas under its control, significantly worsening Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.

Officials and experts warn that their obstruction of aid is pushing already vulnerable populations to the brink.

According to a September 21 report, the World Food Program (WFP) suspended operations in Houthi-controlled areas following the group’s August 31 arrest of 15 WFP employees, part of a broader campaign targeting UN agency staff.

"Houthi security authorities arbitrarily detained a number of UN staff, including 15 of our crews. Therefore, we have decided to suspend all our activities in the north of the country," the WFP said.

The organization had completed the second round of its emergency aid program in late August, targeting roughly 803,000 people across 25 districts most affected by food insecurity.

However, all programs, including school feeding initiatives, have now been suspended.

"The suspension of aid is a direct result of the Houthi arrests. These arbitrary arrests have deprived more than 800,000 people of food baskets," Nabil Abdul Hafeez, Yemen’s Deputy Minister of Human Rights, told Al-Fassel.

Hafeez described the group’s actions as a "current policy of starvation," encompassing looting aid, delaying salary payments, and extorting citizens to support their war effort.

Fahmi al-Zubairi, director general of the Human Rights Office in Sanaa, highlighted the wider implications.

"The suspension of aid directly threatens the region, causing higher malnutrition rates, increased displacement, and jeopardizing social and regional stability," he said.

"Food security is an essential foundation of national security," al-Zubairi added.

School feeding program halted

The suspension of the school feeding program is particularly devastating for families who rely on it to support their children’s education.

"The suspension is expected to exacerbate school dropout rates, since many families depend on the food aid provided in schools as an incentive for their children to attend classes," a social researcher told Al-Fassel, requesting anonymity.

She said that the program’s 2023 reach included assistance to roughly 2 million children across 4,600 schools in 86 districts and 19 provinces.

Through the obstruction of aid and the suspension of school feeding initiatives, the Houthis are deliberately using starvation as a weapon of war.

Reports suggest that vulnerable populations, including children, the elderly, people with special needs, and over five million displaced individuals, are bearing the harshest consequences of the Houthis’ deliberate strategy.