The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) deeply saddened to confirm that a staff member was shot and killed by unknown gunmen on Friday afternoon in Turbah, Taiz in south west Yemen.
According to the statement released by the Agency which stated that the staff, Moayad Hameidi had recently arrived in Yemen to assume his new role as the head of WFP’s office in Taiz.
A dedicated humanitarian, Hameidi, had worked for WFP for 18 years, including a previous stint in Yemen as well as time in Sudan, Syria, and Iraq.
Hameidi, a Jordanian national, died shortly after being transferred to hospital.
WFP Executive Director, Cindy McCain who on Twitter strongly condemned the killing of the Agency’s staff, said those responsible must be held accountable.
According to her, “I strongly condemn the ruthless murder of our @WFP team member in #Yemen today. Moayad was a dedicated humanitarian.
“He served WFP with tireless commitment for 18 years in Sudan, Syria & Iraq. Those responsible must be held accountable. Aid workers should never be a target”, WFP Chief raged.
Also, the WFP Representative and Country Director in Yemen, Richard Ragan said loss of a colleague is a profound tragedy to the organization and the humanitarian community. “Any loss of life in humanitarian service is an unacceptable tragedy”, Ragan added.
An unknown gunman on a motorbike shot dead the WFP employee while he was having lunch at a restaurant in Turbah, a town in southwestern Yemen’s Taiz governorate, a source told the DPA news agency on condition of anonymity.
The assailant then escaped while the victim’s body was transferred to a local hospital, according to the source. Yemen’s official news agency Saba reported the attack, saying it killed a UN employee and injured others.
Fighting between a Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen’s internationally-recognised government and the Iran-allied Houthi rebels has eased over the past year, although sporadic attacks continue, and a long-term peace deal still appears distant.
Yemen’s conflict broke out in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa, prompting the Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year.