Houthis Detain UN Worker After Raids on Two Agencies in Sana'a

The Iran-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.

- Associated Press

Abeer Etefa, a spokesperson for the World Food Programme, said security forces raided the agencies' offices in the Houthi-controlled capital yesterday morning. "WFP reiterates that the arbitrary detention of humanitarian staff is unacceptable," Etefa said.

Ammar Ammar, a spokesperson for Unicef, said there was "an ongoing situation" related to its offices in Sana'a, without providing details.

A UN official said contacts with several other WFP and Unicef staff members were lost and that they were likely to also have been detained.

The raids were the latest in a long-running Houthi crackdown against the UN and other international organizations working in rebel-held areas. They have detained dozens of UN workers as well as people associated with aid groups, civil society and the now-closed US embassy in Sana'a.