The UN said that at least eleven of its staff in Yemen were detained by the Houthi rebels, who carried out a series of arrests after the death of their prime minister on Thursday in Israeli air strikes, AFP reported, quoted by BTA.
The announcement of the death of the leader of the Houthi government, Ahmed al-Rahawi, and several of his ministers, angered the leader of the rebels in Yemen, who today threatened to intensify attacks on Israel.
“At least 11 UN staff members were arrested“, the UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said in a statement, “condemning the new wave of arbitrary arrests of UN staff members today in Sanaa and Hodeidah by “Ansar Allah“ (the official name of the Houthis, ed.).
He condemned the “illegal intrusion into UN premises and the seizure of property belonging to the organization“.
The World Food Programme earlier reported the arrest of one of its staff in Sanaa by the rebels, who seized the Yemeni capital in 2014 and now control much of the country.
“The arbitrary detention of humanitarian workers is unacceptable. The safety and security of staff are essential for carrying out vital humanitarian work, the organization added.
Yemeni rebels control large parts of the country, which has been at war since 2014, including Sanaa, where they have established their political institutions.
Yemeni's internationally recognized authorities, driven out of Sanaa, have settled in Aden, the country's major southern city.
In late January, the UN announced that eight of its staff in Yemen had been arrested by the Houthis, who have been holding dozens of UN and humanitarian workers captive since June 2024.
In June, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the "immediate and unconditional release" of of detainees.
The Houthis justified the arrests in June by uncovering a “US-Israeli spy network“ operating under the guise of humanitarian organizations, accusations that the UN has categorically rejected.
A decade of civil war has plunged Yemen into one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, the UN says.