UN suspends humanitarian operations in Yemen's Saada province after staff detentions

Pause intended to give time to Houthi authorities and UN to arrange release of 'arbitrarily detained UN personnel'

Houthi soldiers on patrol in Sanaa, Yemen. EPA

The UN on Monday announced the suspension of all humanitarian operations in Yemen's Houthi-controlled region of Saada, after the detention of eight more UN staff.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has ordered all UN agencies, funds and programmes to halt activities in Saada governorate due to the lack of necessary security guarantees, deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.

“This extraordinary and temporary measure seeks to balance the imperative to stay and deliver with the need to have the safety and security of the UN personnel and its partners guaranteed,” Mr Haq said.

The pause is intended to “give time to the de facto authorities and the United Nations to arrange the release of arbitrarily detained UN personnel and ensure that the necessary conditions are in place to deliver critical humanitarian support", he added.

In late January, the UN announced that the Iran-backed Houthis had detained seven staff members, a number that has now been revised to eight.

Since the group took Yemen's capital Sanaa and ousted the internationally recognised government in 2014, the Houthis have been accused of kidnapping, arbitrarily detaining and torturing hundreds of civilians, including UN and NGO personnel.

In June, the Houthis detained 13 UN staff members, including six from the Human Rights Office, more than 50 charity workers and a US embassy employee. The group claimed it had uncovered “an American-Israeli spy network” operating under the guise of humanitarian organisations. The allegation was strongly rejected by the UN Human Rights Office.

In early August, the Houthis stormed the UNHCR office in Yemen, seizing keys, documents and property before returning them later that month.

Seven UN agencies, including the World Food Programme, the World Health Organisation and Unicef, are active in Saada, along with international aid organisations, according to the world body. Late last month, the UN suspended all travel into areas controlled by the Houthi rebels.