UN staff detained by Houthis in Sanaa, 11 released after questioning

Iran-aligned Houthi forces detained 20 United Nations employees at a compound in Sanaa on Sunday, the U.N. said, after a separate incursion by Houthi security personnel at a different U.N. facility in the Yemeni capital on Saturday. U.N. officials said the detained staff included five Yemeni employees and 15 international staffers from agencies including the World Food Programme, UNICEF and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Eleven people were released after questioning, the U.N. added.

Jean Alam, spokesman for the U.N. resident coordinator for Yemen, said the detention took place at the organization’s compound in the Hada neighborhood. A U.N. official speaking on condition of anonymity said Houthi forces also confiscated communications equipment from the site, including phones, servers and computers. U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Monday the 15 international staffers were being allowed to move within the compound and had contacted their families and U.N. agencies. He said five Yemeni staff detained since Saturday had been released.

The weekend actions follow a pattern of increasingly aggressive measures by Houthi authorities against...