![Members of security forces perform a search operation following the killing of a World Food Programme (WFP) staffer a day earlier in Yemen's city of Turbah on July 22, 2023. [AHMAD AL-BASHA/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GettyImages-1548123562.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Yemeni authorities have arrested two suspects yesterday in connection to the murder of a senior UN World Food Program (WFP) official the day before in the southwestern province of Taiz.
According to AP, 10 others were also detained for their alleged involvement in the killing of Moayad Hameidi, a Jordanian national and veteran WFP staff member who had recently arrived in the country to head the WFP in the province. He had worked with the WFP for 18 years with previous posts in Sudan, Syria and Iraq.
On Friday, Hameidi died shortly after reaching a hospital having been shot by two gunmen on a motorbike in the town of Turbah, the attackers fled the scene.
"The loss of our colleague is a profound tragedy for our organization and the humanitarian community," said Richard Ragan, WFP's director in Yemen. "Any loss of life in humanitarian service is an unacceptable tragedy."
In a statement, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator David Gressly said he was "shocked and deeply saddened by the appalling attack."
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My deepest condolences to the family of the victim and @WFP. We condemn in the strongest terms the cowardly targeting of Mr. Moayad Hameidi in #Taiz.
The #GoY will spare no effort and take all the necessary measures to exact justice for the victim and hold the perpetrators to… https://t.co/yZHbdyjK1L— Ahmed A. BinMubarak (@BinmubarakAhmed) July 21, 2023
Health minister Qasem Buhaibeh tweeted his condolences to the staffer's family, calling for security forces to "arrest the criminals" responsible for the killing, while In a phone call with WFP Chief Cindy McCain, Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed said the perpetrators would be held accountable for the "terrorist crime" they committed.
According to Middle East Eye (MEE), while aid workers being targeted is rare it isn't unheard of, noting that "While no motive has yet been established for Hameidi's killing, some NGOs have been accused in the past of trying to use their influence to promote ideals deemed by some as contradicting Islam and Yemeni culture."
Last month, Al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen released a new video of a UN worker from Bangladesh who was abducted 16 months ago along with four others, as they returned to the southern port city of Aden following a field mission.
READ: UN could start removing oil this week from decaying Yemen tanker
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