A United Nations official said that Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen detained over twenty UN employees on Sunday, October 19. The day before, they had also raided another UN facility in the capital city of Sanaa.
The spokesperson for the UN Coordinator in Yemen, Jean Alam, told the Associated Press that among those detained on Sunday were 5 Yemeni staff members and 15 international staff members. The Houthi rebels held them captive in the Hada community in southwest Sanaa.
Alam stated that 11 UN staff members were released after questioning.
The UN is in contact with the Houthi rebels and other parties “to swiftly resolve this serious situation, end the detention of all personnel by the (Houthi rebels), and restore full control over the UN compound in Sanaa,” Alam said.
Another UN official, who requested anonymity, informed the Associated Press that the Houthi rebels seized all communication devices of the organization, including phones, servers, and computers.
The detained individuals come from various UN agencies, including the World Food Program, UNICEF, and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the official said.
The Houthi rebels have long targeted the UN and other international organizations in areas under their control, including Sanaa, the coastal city of Hodeida, and the Houthi stronghold in Saada province in northern Yemen.
So far, the Houthi rebels have detained dozens of people, including over fifty UN staff members. Earlier this year, a staff member of the World Food Program died while in detention in Saada province.
The Houthi rebels claim that the detained UN staff members, as well as those working with other international organizations and foreign embassies, are spies. The UN strongly denies these accusations.
In January of this year, the Houthi rebels detained 8 UN staff members, leading the UN to suspend its operations in Saada province. The UN also relocated its top humanitarian coordinator in Yemen from the capital Sanaa to the coastal city of Aden.
(Reference to the Associated Press report)