Yemen's Houthis detain two more UN staff in Sanaa

Rebels holding 55 aid workers as UN warns of growing threats to its mission

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have detained two more UN staff in the capital Sanaa over the past 48 hours, the agency said, marking the latest in a series of attacks on aid workers.

The rebels' actions "include the forcible entry and occupation of UN premises, seizure of assets and the repeated arbitrary detention of United Nations personnel, 55 of whom remain in detention," Farhan Haqq, the deputy UN spokesperson, said late on Friday.

"Two of those personnel were detained yesterday," he said.

In total, 55 aid workers are being held by the Houthis, along with personnel from other non-government and civil society organisations and diplomatic missions. The detainees are believed to be local Yemeni staff.

“Since 2021, the de facto authorities have taken a number of steps that have made it increasingly difficult for the UN to provide assistance to Yemenis," Mr Haqq said.

The UN will have to "reassess the way in which we work in areas controlled by the Houthis”, he added.

This week, 20 UN staff, including 15 foreigners, were released after being held in their compound since a raid last Saturday.

Houthi leader Abdul Malik Al Houthi has accused UN personnel of spying for Israel and identifying targets for the Israeli bombings that killed Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed Al Rahawi and a dozen members of his cabinet in August.

The Iran-aligned rebels, part of the so-called Axis of Resistance against Israel and the US, have frequently fired on ships in the Red Sea and on Israeli territory during the two-year Gaza war, attacks they say are in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Liberian-flagged bulk carrier the Magic Seas sinks after being attacked in the Red Sea off the port city of Hodeidah, Yemen, in July. EPA

'Systematic escalation'

The internationally recognised Yemeni government has condemned the latest arrests, describing them as an escalation.

"We strongly condemn the recent campaign launched by the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist militia over the past 24 hours against UN personnel in the hijacked capital, Sanaa," Information Minister Moammar Al Eryani said.

"This systematic escalation reaffirms that the Houthi militia does not recognise the law, respect international conventions, or adhere to the minimum humanitarian standards, treating international organisations and their workers as hostages and tools for political extortion," he said.

The silence from the UN is encouraging the Houthis to commit further crimes against Yemeni and international aid workers, Majid Al Fadhil, Yemen's Deputy Human Rights Minister, told The National.

"The UN in Yemen must bear full responsibility for the safety and security of their staff. We affirm that turning a blind eye to the Houthi crimes constitutes a crime in itself and constitutes actual complicity in these violations," Mr Al Fadhil said.

"This suspicious silence has encouraged the Houthis to increase their crimes. It started with attacks on local staff. They have now extended to include international staff and UN offices themselves," added the Yemeni official.

On Monday, the UN said the five Yemeni UN staff detained last weekend had been released and the 15 foreign staff were "free to move inside the UN compound", and were in contact with their families. It said Houthi security personnel had left the site.

Those held included Peter Hawkins, the representative of children's agency Unicef in Yemen. Dozens of UN personnel have been arrested in recent months in Houthi-controlled areas.

On Wednesday, the rebels released a dozen international UN staff members and allowed three others to move freely in the UN compound. The 12 international workers left Sanaa on a UN humanitarian flight, with some relocating to Jordan to continue their work.