UN says 19 staff detained in Houthi raids on offices in Yemen

At least 19 United Nations employees were detained by Iranian-backed Houthi forces during raids on UN offices in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, the UN said Tuesday — a higher figure than initially reported.

UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said 18 of those held are Yemeni nationals and one is an international staffer, urging their immediate release.

The raids, which targeted UN agencies for food, health and children, came days after an Israeli airstrike killed Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed Al-Rahawi and several Cabinet ministers.

The Houthis have been at war with Yemen’s internationally recognized government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, since seizing Sanaa in 2014. More recently, they have attacked shipping in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, drawing U.S. and Israeli retaliatory strikes.

Dujarric noted the Houthis have previously detained 23 UN employees, some since 2021. He warned the crackdown threatens the UN’s ability to deliver aid in Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest country.

UN special envoy Hans Grundberg, following talks with Houthi negotiators in Oman, also condemned the detentions and forced entry into UN offices.