The UN says it is “pursuing all available channels” to ensure the safe release of its personnel “as quickly as possible”.
Yemen’s Houthi group is detaining at least 11 United Nations staff, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, calling for the officials’ unconditional release.
Dujarric said on Friday that the UN was seeking clarification from the Houthis on the reason for the detention of the Yemeni officials. The two women and nine men work for five different UN agencies and the UN envoy for Yemen.
“We are pursuing all available channels to ensure the safe and unconditional release of all of them as quickly as possible,” Dujarric said, adding that the UN also wants access to the personnel.
In a series of attacks, armed Houthi intelligence officers also detained three employees of the US-funded pro-democracy group National Democratic Institute (NDI) and three employees of a local human rights group, three officials from Yemen’s internationally recognized government told Reuters on Friday. .
Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned the detentions, stating that the Yemeni group’s refusal to disclose the location of the detained individuals “may amount to enforced disappearance” under international law.
.@UN_Spokesperson: “We can confirm that de facto Houthi authorities have detained 11 United Nations national staff working in #Yemen. We are pursuing all available channels to ensure the safe and unconditional release of all of them as quickly as possible.”@OSE_Yemen pic.twitter.com/lPqQOdvhy2
— UN Peacebuilding and Political Affairs (@UNDPPA) June 7, 2024
“The Houthis should immediately release any UN staff and workers from other independent groups they have detained for their humanitarian and human rights work and stop arbitrarily detaining and forcibly disappearing people,” said Niku Jafarnia, a researcher at HRW in Yemen and Bahrain, in a statement.
“These detentions not only attack the rights of these individuals, but also undermine essential humanitarian and human rights work in Yemen, at a time when the majority of Yemenis do not have adequate access to basic needs such as food and water.”
The reason behind the arrests remains unclear. But the apparent crackdown comes at a time of rising tensions and doubts about the sustainability of the relative calm between the Houthis and the internationally recognized government.
Last month, the government demanded that all banks move their headquarters to the southern city of Aden, a move that could put even more economic pressure on Houthi-controlled areas. The Houthis control the capital Sanaa and present themselves as the country’s legitimate authorities.
Bloomberg News reported Thursday that Washington is trying to block key parts of a United Nations peace plan that warring parties in Yemen adopted in December unless the Houthis cease their attacks on international shipping.
Since November, the Yemeni group has launched drone and missile attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, a campaign it says aims to pressure Israel to end its war in Gaza, which has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians.
In a statement on the social media platform
Former employees of the US Embassy in Sanaa, which closed in 2015, were also detained and detained by the Houthis.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
