The UN suspends its trips to Yemen controlled by the Houthis

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (AP) – The United Nations suspended any trip to the controlled areas on Friday Yemen Houthi rebels After seven other members of their staff were arrested by the rebels.

The Houthis have already arrested members of the UN staff, as well as individuals associated with the American embassy formerly open to Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, and humanitarian groups.

“Yesterday, the de facto authorities of Sanaa arrested additional UN staff working in the areas under their control,” said the UN press release. “To guarantee the safety and security of all its staff, the United Nations suspended all official movements towards and within the areas under the control of de facto authorities. »»

Before Friday, the UN had a total of 16 Yemeni staff members held by the Houthis. Employees discovered that seven other people had been taken and interrupted their work, which consisted in providing food, medicines and other aid to the poor nation.

In June, The UN recognized that 11 Yemeni employees had been arrested By the Houthis in vague circumstances while the rebels rebuned the areas more and more under their control. Several dozen other people from humanitarian agencies and other organizations are also detained.

The UN added that it “actively committed with high representatives” of the Houthis, who have had the capital of Yemen since 2014. The rebels supported by Iran are at war against a coalition led by Saudi Arabia which struggle on behalf of the country’s government since 2015.

UN Secretary General António Guterres said on Friday that “their maintenance in arbitrary detention is unacceptable”.

“The continuous targeting of UN staff and its partners has a negative impact on our ability to help millions of people in need in Yemen,” he said in a statement. “The Houthis must respect their previous commitments and act in the best interest of the Yemeni people and global efforts aimed at establishing peace in Yemen. »»

The Houthis did not recognize the UN decision, which took place when they also tried to defuse their attacks on maritime transport and against Israel after the conclusion of a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas.

US President Donald Trump has separately decided to restore the designation of terrorism he had assigned to the group at the end of his first mandate, which had been dismissed by President Joe Bidenpotentially paving the way for new tensions with the rebels. It was not clear if the Houthis considered UN detentions to be linked to this decision.

The Houthis declared earlier this week that they would limit their attacks against ships in the corridor of the Red Sea and released the crew from 25 members of the Galaxy LeaderA ship they recovered in November 2023.

However, the Houthis have been carrying out a campaign targeting those who have links with the West for some time.

The group has released repeated programs on the television channels it controls, scrolling through people they describe as working with Western intelligence agencies or with the Israelis.

The war in Yemen killed more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, and created one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world, killing tens of thousands of others.

The attacks of the Houthis against maritime transport during the war between Israel and Hamas helped to divert attention from their internal problems. But they are undergoing losses and damage due to air strikes by the United States targeting the group for months now, as well as other Israeli strikes.

Thousands of people were imprisoned by the Houthis during the war. A survey by Associated Press discovered that some detainees were burned with acid, forced to hang themselves through the wrists for weeks or beaten with batons. Meanwhile, the Houthis employed child soldiers and posed mines without discernment during the conflict.