UN suspends all trips into Houthi-held areas of Yemen over staffers being detained
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Nations on Friday suspended all travel into areas held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels after more of their staff were detained by the rebels.
The Houthis already have detained U.N. staffers, as well as individuals associated with the once-open U.S. Embassy in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, and aid groups. The rebels have been trying to deescalate their attacks on regional shipping and Israel after a ceasefire was reached in the Israel-Hamas war.
“Yesterday, the de facto authorities in Sanaa detained additional U.N. personnel working in areas under their control,” the U.N. statement read. “To ensure the security and safety of all its staff, the United Nations has suspended all official movements into and within areas under the de facto authorities’ control.”
The U.N. did not say how many workers were taken in recent days. In June, the U.N. said 11 Yemeni employees were detained by the Houthis under unclear circumstances as the rebels increasingly cracked down on areas under their control.
An appeal in December by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres’ office said the rebels held over 50 people from the U.N. and other organizations, in addition to four other U.N. personnel detained since 2021 and 2023. In August, the Houthis raided a U.N. human rights office in Sanaa and seized “documents, furniture, vehicles and the office’s keys,” the U.N. said.
The U.N. added that it was “actively engaging with senior representatives” of the Houthis, who have held Yemen’s capital since 2014. The Iranian-backed rebels have been at war with a Saudi-led coalition battling on behalf of the country’s exiled government since 2015.
The Houthis did not immediately acknowledge the U.N.’s decision. The group, led by their enigmatic supreme leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, are members of Islam’s minority Shiite Zaydi sect. That sect ruled Yemen for 1,000 years until 1962.
U.S. President Donald Trump separately has moved to reinstate a terrorism designation he made on the group late in his first term that had been revoked by President Joe Biden, potentially setting the stage for new tensions with the rebels. It wasn’t clear if the Houthis viewed the U.N. detentions as being linked to the decision, though their satellite channel al-Masirah has run repeated segments criticizing the move in the days since.
The Houthis earlier this week said they would limit their attacks on ships in the Red Sea corridor and released the 25-member crew of the Galaxy Leader, a ship they seized back in November 2023.
However, the Houthis have run a campaign targeting U.N. staff, aid workers and others for some time as they face an ailing economy, a cratering national currency and fights over control of the country’s banks.
The group has also been airing repeated programs on television channels they control parading people they describe as working with Western intelligence agencies or the Israelis.
The war in Yemen has killed more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, killing tens of thousands more.
The Houthis’ attacks on shipping during the Israel-Hamas war have helped deflect attention from their problems at home. But they have faced casualties and damage from U.S.-led airstrikes targeting the group for months now, as well as other strikes by Israel.
Thousands have been imprisoned by the Houthis during the war. An AP investigation found some detainees were scorched with acid, forced to hang from their wrists for weeks at a time or were beaten with batons. Meanwhile, the Houthis have employed child soldiers and indiscriminately laid mines in the conflict.