UN confirms 11 staff detained by Houthis in Yemen
The United Nations has issued a plea for the immediate liberation of 11 of its staff members who have been detained by the Houthi movement in Yemen.
These employees were apprehended in various regions of the conflict-ridden nation, suggesting a coordinated crackdown.
According to UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, the organization is actively utilizing all available channels to secure the swift and unconditional release of its personnel.
The Houthi faction perceives itself as part of an Iranian-led “axis of resistance” against Israel, the United States, and the broader Western world, and has pledged its support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Furthermore, the Houthis have been targeting commercial vessels in the Red Sea, prompting retaliatory airstrikes by the United States and its allies.
Reports from officials of Yemen’s internationally recognized government indicate that several employees of other international organizations have also been detained.
Phones and computers were seized during the raids on the workers’ homes and offices, which come after months of Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.
The Mayyun Organisation for Human Rights said Houthi intelligence officers targeted 18 aid workers from several groups in Amran, Hudaydah, Saada, and Sana’a at the same time.
Officials told Reuters news agency that multiple members of the US-backed National Democratic Institute (NDI) were targeted.
The detentions demonstrate the risks facing aid workers in a country where a decade-long civil war has reportedly killed more than 150,000 people and triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
They come as the Houthis face increasing economic difficulties and air strikes carried out by a US-led coalition.
The armed group controls the capital of Yemen – Sana’a – and the country’s north-west, running a de facto government which collects taxes and prints money.
The internationally recognized government of Yemen is based in the southern port of Aden.
