Sanaa (AFP): Yemen’s Houthis have detained another group of UN personnel, a United Nations statement said on Friday, after 13 staff were held last June.
“Yesterday, the de facto authorities in Sanaa detained additional UN personnel working in areas under their control,” the office of the resident United Nations coordinator for Yemen said.
It did not say how many were held in the latest swoop by the Iran-backed Houthis, who have detained dozens of staff from UN and other humanitarian organizations, most since the middle of last year.
Yemen is one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises where more than 18 million people need assistance and protection, according to the United Nations.
The UN has now suspended “all official movements into and within” areas held by Houthis, the statement said.
“UN 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 added.
The detentions come after United States President Donald Trump ordered the Houthis placed back on the list of foreign terrorist organizations.
No immediate comment was available from the Houthis, who seized the capital Sanaa in 2014 and rule large parts of the impoverished, war-torn country.