OVER 400 USAID WORKERS DISMISSED IN RECENT DAYS: REPORTS

MOSCOW, Feb 23 (Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti) -- Over 400 employees of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have been dismissed in recent days, reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti, citing The New York Times.

In addition, 36 people were dismissed from the Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), the agency's conflict prevention unit that specialises in helping partner countries with political transitions and democratic initiatives, unnamed sources told the newspaper.

According to the publication, 200 of the dismissed employees worked in the humanitarian aid bureau, and another 200 in the "support and assistance" responsible for aid during natural disasters and military actions.

The newspaper emphasised that many of the dismissed employees had worked at USAID for 25 years and had experience in armed conflict zones, including Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine.

On Feb 2, the head of the new US Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE) and entrepreneur Elon Musk called USAID a "criminal organisation" that "needs to die". Musk said that US President Donald Trump had agreed to close USAID. In addition, DOGE chief specified that the agency's closure was underway.

USAID funding has been frozen. US State Secretary Marco Rubio, who was appointed acting head of USAID by Trump, previously said that the authorities were going to review the agency "from top to bottom" to determine whether the funding of programmes complied with the current administration's international policy since USAID spent money "to the detriment" of the United States. According to Rubio, after a reassessment, in some cases, aid may be unfrozen or increased.

-- BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI