Houthis detain at least one UN worker in raids on two agencies in Sana'a

"The Iranian-backed Houthis have raided offices of the United Nations' food and children's agencies in Yemen's capital, detaining at least one UN employee, officials said, as the rebels tightened security across Sana'a after Israel's killing of their prime minister and several cabinet members. Abeer Etefa, a spokesperson for the World Food Programme, said security forces raided the agencies' offices in the Houthi-controlled capital on Sunday morning."

"The raids were the latest in a long-running Houthi crackdown against the UN and other international organisations working in rebel-held areas in Yemen. They have detained dozens of UN staffers as well as people associated with aid groups, civil society and the now closed US embassy in Sana'a. The UN suspended its operations in the Houthi stronghold of Saada, in northern Yemen, after the rebels detained eight UN staffers in January."

"Among the dead were the prime minister, Ahmed al-Rahawi; the foreign minister, Gamal Amer; the deputy prime minister and minister of local development, Mohammed al-Medani; the electricity minister, Ali Seif Hassan; the tourism minister, Ali al-Yafei; and the information minister, Hashim Sharafuldin, according to two Houthi officials and the victims' families. Also killed was a powerful deputy interior minister, Abdel-Majed al-Murtada, the Houthi official"

Iranian-backed Houthis raided the offices of the World Food Programme and Unicef in Sana'a and detained at least one UN employee. Contacts with several other WFP and Unicef staffers were lost and those staffers were likely also detained. WFP said the arbitrary detention of humanitarian staff is unacceptable. The raids continued a long-running Houthi crackdown that has detained dozens of UN staffers and people associated with aid groups, civil society and the now-closed US embassy in Sana'a. The UN suspended operations in Saada after rebels detained eight UN staffers in January. The raids followed an Israeli strike that killed the Houthi prime minister and several cabinet members and were linked to the rebels' attacks on Israel and ships in the Red Sea related to the Israel-Hamas war.

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