At least 11 United Nations (UN) personnel have been detained by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels following a raid on United Nations’ food, health and children’s agencies in the city’s capital.
According to the UN envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, the 11 staff were detained in both Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah.
He said the detentions were in addition to 23 other U.N. staff previously held, some since 2021, and one who died in detention earlier this year.
The raid followed an Israeli strike on Sanaa on Thursday last week that killed the prime minister of Yemen’s Houthi-run government and several other ministers, dealing a major blow to the Iran-backed rebels.
Among the dead were the prime minister, Ahmed al-Rahawi, the foreign minister, Gamal Amer, the deputy prime minister and minister of local development, Mohammed al-Medani, the electricity minister, Ali Seif Hassan, the tourism minister, Ali al-Yafei and the information minister, Hashim Sharafuldin, according to two Houthi officials and the victims’ families
The Houthis have been carrying out attacks on Israel and ships in the Red Sea in retaliation for the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Abeer Etefa, a spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP), told the Associated Press that Houthi security forces stormed the agencies’ offices in the capital on Sunday morning.
She confirmed at least one staff member was detained in Sanaa, with others reportedly held in different areas.
“WFP reiterates that the arbitrary detention of humanitarian staff is unacceptable,” Etefa said.
Other U.N. agencies with offices in Sanaa and Hodeidah include UNICEF, the U.N. Development Programme, and the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, in a statement posted on X, condemned “the forced entry into the premises of the World Food Program, the seizure of UN property and attempts to enter other UN premises in Sanaa.” He called for the immediate and unconditional release of the detained personnel.
“The personnel of the UN and its partners must never be targeted while carrying out their duties. The UN will continue to work tirelessly for the safe and immediate release of all arbitrarily detained, and, together with its partners, will continue to support the Yemeni people in their pursuit of a just and lasting peace,” the statement read.
The Houthis are likely to escalate their attacks on Israel and ships in the Red Sea, after they vowed in July to target merchant ships belonging to any company that does business with Israeli ports, regardless of nationality.
