UN suspends operations in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen after staff detentions

SANAA, Yemen

The UN said Friday that it has suspended all movements within and to areas controlled by Yemen’s Houthi forces after more of its staff were detained in the capital Sanaa.

“Yesterday (Thursday), the de facto authorities in Sana’a (Houthis) detained additional UN personnel working in areas under their control,” the organization said in a statement.

To ensure the safety and security of its personnel, the UN has suspended “all official movements into and within areas under the de facto authorities' control. This measure will remain in place until further notice,” the statement added.

The organization noted that its officials in Yemen “are actively engaging with senior representatives of the de facto authorities, demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all detained UN personnel and partners.”

The statement did not specify the number or nationalities of the detainees. The Houthi group has yet to comment on the matter.

In June 2024, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of 17 detained UN staff in Sanaa, including 13 detained earlier that month and four held between 2021 and 2023.

The Houthis, however, claim they have no issue with UN employees and allege the detainees are “accused of spying for the US.”

The group has also been holding around 20 Yemeni employees of the US Embassy in Sanaa for three years. The embassy suspended its operations in the country in 2014.

Yemen remains mired in one of the world’s worst humanitarian and economic crises, fueled by nearly a decade of war between government forces and the Houthis.

The war in Yemen has claimed over 150,000 lives and has led to one of the worst humanitarian crises globally, resulting in tens of thousands of additional deaths.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio