Iran-backed Houthis raid UN offices in Yemen, detain 11 staffers

Cairo: Iran-backed Houthi rebels raided U.N. offices in Yemen’s capital on Sunday, detaining 11 employees from food, health and children’s agencies, U.N. and Houthi officials said.

Armed forces stormed the offices of the World Health Organisation and UNICEF in Sanaa, questioning staff in parking lots before taking several away, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The raids came after the killing of the Houthis’ prime minister and several Cabinet members in an Israeli strike, which prompted the rebels to tighten security across the city.

Ammar Ammar, a UNICEF spokesperson, confirmed that some staffers were detained and said the agency was seeking more information from Houthi authorities.

U.N. agencies, including WHO and UNICEF, said they were conducting a “comprehensive head count” of employees in Sanaa and other areas under Houthi control.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, in a statement, condemned that and the “forced entry into the premises of the World Food Program, the seizure of U.N. property and attempts to enter other U.N. premises in Sanaa.” He called for the immediate and unconditional release of the personnel.

The raids marked the latest escalation in a long-running Houthi crackdown on the United Nations and other international organisations operating in rebel-controlled parts of Yemen.

Over the years, the Houthis have detained dozens of U.N. employees, along with aid workers, civil society activists, and staff linked to the now-shuttered U.S. Embassy in Sanaa. In January, the U.N. suspended operations in the northern stronghold of Saada after eight of its staffers were seized.

Sunday’s raids followed Thursday’s Israeli strike that killed the Houthis’ prime minister and several Cabinet members — a major blow to the Iran-backed group, which has targeted Israel and commercial shipping in the Red Sea amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Those killed included Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi, Foreign Minister Gamal Amer, Deputy Prime Minister and Local Development Minister Mohammed al-Medani, Electricity Minister Ali Seif Hassan, Tourism Minister Ali al-Yafei, and Information Minister Hashim Sharafuldin, according to Houthi officials and relatives.

The latest Israeli strike came after the Houthis attacked Israel on August 21 with a ballistic missile that its military described as the first cluster bomb the rebels had launched at Israel since 2023. The missile, which the Houthis said was aimed at Ben Gurion Airport, prompted air raid sirens across central Israel and Jerusalem, forcing millions into shelters.

The Houthis are likely to escalate their attacks on Israel and ships in the Red Sea, after they vowed in July to target merchant ships belonging to any company that does business with Israeli ports, regardless of nationality.

“Our military approach of targeting the Israeli enemy, whether with missiles, drones or a naval blockade, is continuous, steady, and escalating,” al-Houthi, the group’s secretive leader, said in a televised speech Sunday. AP