Iran-backed Houthi rebels stormed the offices of two United Nations agencies in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, on Sunday, a day after Israel claimed to have killed the rebel-controlled government’s prime minister.
The offices of the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Children’s Agency (UNICEF) were “entered by local security forces” on Sunday morning, according to spokespersons for both organizations.
According to the statements, one WFP employee and several UNICEF employees were detained.
Hans Grundberg, the United Nations special envoy for Yemen, later confirmed that at least 11 UN personnel had been detained, and he “strongly” condemned the detentions as well as the forced entry into UN facilities.
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, also strongly condemned the Houthis’ actions, calling for “the immediate and unconditional release” of those detained by the rebel group.
Guterres stated that since 2021, other UN employees, as well as those from NGOs, civil society, and diplomatic missions, have been arbitrarily detained in Yemen.
“The personnel of the UN and its partners must never be targeted, arrested or detained while carrying out their duties for the UN,” said the diplomat. “The United Nations will continue to work tirelessly to secure the safe and immediate release of all arbitrarily detained individuals.”
The WFP and UNICEF are “urgently seeking additional information” from local authorities, their spokespersons told CNN, adding that “our immediate priority is the safety and well-being of our staff.”
It is unclear if the raids were linked to Israel’s attacks. The Houthis have previously targeted the United Nations and other international organizations.
Yemeni state news agency SABA NEWS reported that Moammar al-Eryani, the UN-backed government’s information minister, strongly condemned the Houthis’ actions.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that the strikes that killed Yemen’s Houthi rebel prime minister, Ahmed al-Rahawi, were “only the beginning” of his country’s campaign against the group.
Al-Rahawi and other Houthi officials were killed in a strike on Sanaa on Thursday, according to the head of the Houthis’ Supreme Political Council, who has promised vengeance for the attack.
The rebel group regularly launches missiles at Israel and attacks on Red Sea vessels in retaliation for Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
Netanyahu has promised that the Houthis will “pay a very heavy price for their aggression against the State of Israel.”
“We are doing what no one has done before us, and this is only the beginning of the strikes on senior officials in Sanaa – we will get to all of them,” the Israeli leader told a government meeting on Sunday.
Since 2014, Yemen has been divided between a Houthi government in Sanaa and much of the north, and a rival but more widely recognized administration in the south.
