Twelve UN staff leave Sanaa after being held by Houthi forces - may Allah protect them
Assalamu alaikum - I saw this news and wanted to share an updated version. Twelve international UN staff who had been detained inside the UN compound in Sanaa were able to leave the Houthi-held capital on Wednesday, the UN said. The Iran-backed Houthi group raided the UN compound recently and had held 20 staff members, including 15 foreigners; five Yemeni staff were released earlier on Sunday.
The Houthis have a history of detaining humanitarian and aid workers, accusing them of spying, and those arrests have increased since the Gaza war began. A UN statement said: “Earlier today, 12 UN international staff who were among those previously held in the UN compound in Yemen departed Sanaa on a UN Humanitarian Air Service flight.” Some of these colleagues will move to Amman, Jordan, and further travel or a return to Yemen has not been ruled out. The UN also said the three remaining staff are now free to move or travel.
A UN spokesperson added they still plan to keep some international staff in Sanaa. Among those detained earlier was UNICEF’s representative in Yemen, Peter Hawkins. The Houthis, who have aligned themselves against Israel and the United States, have at times attacked Red Sea shipping and Israeli targets during the conflict, saying they stand with the Palestinians. Israel has struck back in several operations. Houthi leader Abdulmalik Al-Houthi accused the detained UN employees of involvement in one such attack, but the UN has denied those claims.
According to the UN, 53 aid and UN workers remain arbitrarily detained by the Houthis. The rebels had stormed UN offices in Sanaa on August 31 and detained more than 11 staff then. A Houthi official told AFP the detainees were suspected of spying for the United States and Israel. In mid-September, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen was moved from Sanaa to Aden, the interim capital of the internationally recognized government.
May Allah grant safety to humanitarian workers and ease for the people of Yemen.
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