Iran-backed Houthi forces raided World Food Program and UNICEF offices in Sanaa and detained at least one U.N. employee, with contacts lost for several other staffers who were likely detained. WFP called the arbitrary detention of humanitarian staff unacceptable. The raids form part of a long-running Houthi crackdown that has detained dozens of U.N. personnel and people linked to aid groups, civil society and the now-closed U.S. Embassy in Sanaa. The U.N. suspended operations in Saada after eight staffers were detained in January. The raids followed an Israeli strike that killed Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi and several Cabinet members.
Abeer Etefa, a spokesperson for the World Food Program, told The Associated Press that security forces raided the agencies' offices in the Houthi-controlled capital Sunday morning. 'WFP reiterates that the arbitrary detention of humanitarian staff is unacceptable,' Etefa said. Also raided were UNICEF offices, according to a U.N. official and a Houthi official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to brief the media.
The raids were the latest in a long-running Houthi crackdown against the United Nations and other international organizations working in rebel-held areas in Yemen. They have detained dozens of U.N. staffers, as well as people associated with aid groups, civil society and the now-closed U.S. Embassy in Sanaa. The U.N. suspended its operations in the Houthi stronghold of Saada in northern Yemen after the rebels detained eight U.N. staffers in January.
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