The Houthi group has detained at least 11 United Nations staff members in Yemen after raiding UN offices in the capital Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah, the UN special envoy confirmed on Sunday.
The detentions came just days after an Israeli airstrike killed Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi, the Houthis’ self-styled prime minister, along with several cabinet members. The strike has further escalated tensions in the war-torn country.
According to a Yemeni security source cited by AFP, the Houthis also arrested dozens of individuals across Sanaa and nearby areas, accusing them of collaborating with Israel.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the raids, revealing that militants forcibly entered World Food Program facilities, seized UN property, and attempted to storm other agency offices.
Hans Grundberg, the UN special envoy for Yemen, denounced the arrests as “a new wave of arbitrary detentions” and demanded the immediate and unconditional release of UN personnel. He stressed that aid work is carried out under principles of neutrality, impartiality, and humanity, and said such actions endanger essential humanitarian operations.
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Grundberg noted that the Houthis are already holding 23 other UN staff, some since 2021, with one aid worker reportedly dying in custody earlier this year.
The detentions mark a sharp escalation in the conflict, raising international concerns about the safety of humanitarian workers and the worsening humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
