Assalamu alaykum - Houthis detain more UN aid workers in Sanaa
Assalamu alaykum. Yemen’s Houthi authorities have detained two more United Nations staff in Sanaa within the last 48 hours, the UN said, adding to a growing number of incidents targeting humanitarian workers.
The deputy UN spokesperson, Farhan Haqq, said the actions by the de facto authorities have included forced entry into UN sites, seizure of assets and repeated arbitrary detention of UN staff. He said 55 UN personnel remain detained, and two were taken just yesterday. Most of those held are believed to be local Yemeni staff.
Mr Haqq warned that since 2021 the measures imposed by the authorities have made it much harder for the UN to deliver assistance to Yemenis. He said the UN may need to reassess how it operates in areas under Houthi control.
Earlier this week, 20 UN staff - including 15 international staff - were released after being held inside their compound following a raid. Some international workers later left Sanaa on a humanitarian flight and some relocated to Jordan to continue their work.
Houthi leader Abdul Malik Al Houthi has accused UN personnel of spying for Israel and of identifying targets linked to earlier strikes that killed a Houthi prime minister and several ministers in August. The Iran-aligned group has also been involved in attacks on ships in the Red Sea and on Israeli territory, which they say are acts of solidarity with Palestinians.
Yemen’s internationally recognised government condemned the recent detentions as an escalation. Information Minister Moammar Al Eryani said the Houthi militia does not respect international law or humanitarian standards and treats international organisations and their workers as hostages and political pawns.
Yemen’s Deputy Human Rights Minister, Majid Al Fadhil, told the UN it must take responsibility for the safety of its staff, warning that silence could be seen as complicity and may encourage further violations. He said the pattern began with attacks on local staff and has now extended to international workers and UN offices.
The UN reported that five Yemeni UN staff detained last weekend had been released and that 15 foreign staff were free to move inside the UN compound and were in contact with their families after Houthi security personnel left the site. Dozens of UN personnel have been detained in Houthi-controlled areas in recent months.
May Allah protect aid workers and grant safety to all civilians affected by the conflict in Yemen. Please keep the victims and their families in your duas.
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