Twelve UN employees, including women and men, were arrested by the Houthi militia in Yemen. Their identities are still unknown. How is the international community reacting?
According to information from UN sources, the Houthi militia in Yemen has arrested several United Nations employees. Twelve employees were arrested the day before in various provinces, including in the capital Sanaa, UN sources said. They were women and men. Their identities were not initially known. They are said to have worked for the UN emergency relief office OCHA, among others. Neither the Houthi nor the United Nations initially commented.
A UN spokesman in New York confirmed the arrest of eleven UN employees when asked. They were “very concerned about these developments” and were currently working to gain access to the employees and ensure their “safe and unconditional release”.
When asked, Houthi circles said that “protecting the Yemeni people from any intelligence activities” was one of the basic tasks of the militia’s security services. They worked “in accordance with the law.”
Since the end of 2014, Yemen has been ravaged by a devastating conflict between the government, the Houthi rebels and their allies. Saudi Arabia is fighting in Yemen against the Iran-backed Houthi, who overran the country in 2014 and control large parts of the north. The United Nations considers the conflict in Yemen a humanitarian catastrophe that has brought the country to the brink of famine.
Since the outbreak of the Gaza war, the Houthis have also repeatedly attacked merchant ships in the Red Sea. The militia claims to be allied with the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip and wants to use the shelling to force an end to Israeli attacks in the coastal strip. In response to the attacks, the USA and Great Britain have carried out several military strikes against Houthis’ positions in recent months.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
