Huthis raid UN premises in Yemen: At least 11 aid workers detained; crackdown follows Israeli strike

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Houthi fighters participate in a weekly anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen (File – PTI)

The United Nations on Sunday stated Yemen’s Huthi rebels detained at least 11 of its employees in raids on UN premises in Sanaa and Hodeida, days after Israel’s strike killed the group’s prime minister, Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi.According to the information company AFP, the UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, condemned the “new wave of arbitrary detentions” and confirmed that “at least 11 UN personnel were detained”. He demanded they be launched “immediately and unconditionally”. He additionally stated the rebels had been already holding 23 UN personnel, some since 2021 and 2023, in addition to eight detained in January this yr.The world meals programme (WFP) individually confirmed that certainly one of its employees members had been detained in Sanaa and stated it was “urgently seeking additional information”. A safety supply advised AFP that seven WFP workers and three UNICEF workers had been amongst these arrested on Sunday after insurgent raids on their places of work.WFP stated in a press release, “the arbitrary detention of humanitarian staff is unacceptable. The safety and security of personnel is essential to carrying out life-saving humanitarian work.”The Huthis, who seized Sanaa in 2014 and now management a lot of Yemen, have beforehand accused aid workers of working as “an American-Israeli spy network” – allegations the UN has firmly rejected. On Saturday, AFP reported that Huthi authorities had additionally detained dozens of individuals in Sanaa and different areas on suspicion of collaborating with Israel. The crackdown adopted the Israeli strike that killed Rahawi, essentially the most senior Huthi chief to die for the reason that Gaza struggle started.The Iran-backed group has since vowed to accentuate assaults on Israel. While some residents of Sanaa referred to as the airstrike “cowardly and brutal”, others condemned it as “a blatant attack… against our country’s sovereignty.” Meanwhile, a video posted by a Yemeni comic celebrating Rahawi’s dying drew sturdy backlash on-line.A decade-long battle has left Yemen in one of many world’s worst humanitarian crises, with greater than half its inhabitants depending on aid. Previous waves of detentions have already pressured the UN to scale down operations in elements of the nation.