UN Moves Yemen Coordinator’s Office to Aden After Staff Detentions in Sanaa

The United Nations has shifted its resident coordinator’s office for Yemen from Houthi-controlled Sanaa to Aden, more than a week after at least 18 UN personnel were detained by Houthi forces.

The coordinator’s office said Tuesday the move would not alter the UN’s mandate across Yemen, with the coordinator continuing to travel throughout the country, including to Sanaa. Yemen’s Aden-based government welcomed the relocation and urged other UN programs to follow suit, while renewing calls for the Houthis to release all detained aid workers.

The Houthis, who seized Sanaa in 2014, have long held UN staff; 23 remain in detention, some since 2021. The World Food Programme condemned the recent raids, saying forced entry into UN offices, property seizures, and detentions had “severely compromised” aid operations in northern Yemen.