11 UN employees detained by Houthis in Yemen — UN envoy

Hans Grundberg demanded that the Houthis “release immediately and unconditionally all UN personnel, as well as staff from national and international NGOs, civil society organizations, and diplomatic missions”

Eleven United Nations employees have been detained by the Houthis from the Yemeni Ansar Allah rebel movement in Yemen, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said.

“I strongly condemn the new wave of arbitrary detentions of UN personnel today in Sana’a and Hudaydah by Ansar Allah, as well as the forced entry into UN premises and seizure of UN property.

At least 11 UN personnel were detained. These arrests come in addition to 23 UN personnel currently in detention, some detained since 2021 and 2023, and one colleague who died in detention earlier this year,” he said in a statement.

He demanded that the Houthis “release immediately and unconditionally all UN personnel, as well as staff from national and international NGOs, civil society organizations, and diplomatic missions.”

The AFP agency reported, citing a statement by the UN World Food Program (WFP), that the Houthi security forces had detained a WFP employee in the Yemeni capital city of Sana. The incident took place several days after Israel had attacked targets in Houthi-controlled Sana during a televised address by rebel leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi.

On Saturday, the unrecognized presidential council, which runs Houthi-controlled territories in Yemen, announced the death of the head of the Houthi-formed government, Prime Minister Ahmed Galeb al-Rahawi.

According to a source in the rebel movement, the Israeli strikes killed at least ten Houthi government members.