Monday, October 20, 2025 - Iranian-backed Houthi rebels
detained 20 United Nations employees on Sunday, October 19, 2025, just a day
after raiding another UN facility in the capital, Sanaa. This action marks a
significant escalation in the rebels' ongoing crackdown against international
aid operations in Yemen.
Jean Alam, a spokesman for the UN resident coordinator for
Yemen, confirmed that the UN staffers were detained inside a facility in
Sanaa’s Hada neighborhood. Those detained include five Yemenis and 15
international staff. The rebels reportedly released another 11 staffers after
questioning.
The UN is currently in contact with the Houthis and other
parties to "resolve this serious situation as swiftly as possible, end the
detention of all personnel, and restore full control over its facilities in
Sanaa."
A second UN official, speaking anonymously, stated that the
rebels confiscated all communications equipment from the raided facility,
including phones, servers, and computers. The detained employees belong to
multiple UN agencies, including the World Food Program, UNICEF, and the Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The recent detentions are part of a long-running campaign by
the Houthis against the UN and other international organizations operating in
rebel-held areas such as Sanaa, Hodeida, and Saada province. Dozens of people
have been detained so far, including over 50 UN staffers. Earlier this year, a
World Food Program worker tragically died while in Houthi detention in Saada.
The rebels have repeatedly, and without providing evidence,
accused the detained UN and international aid workers of being spies. The UN
has vehemently denied these allegations. This escalating crackdown previously
forced the UN to suspend operations in Saada province in January and relocate
its top humanitarian coordinator from Sanaa to the internationally recognized
government's seat in Aden.
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