UN chief calls for unconditional release of humanitarian staff seized by Yemen's Houthis

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have imprisoned another seven UN personnel, the UN head announced on Friday, in their latest attack on relief workers.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the “immediate and unconditional” release of all aid workers detained in Yemen, which is experiencing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

“Their continued arbitrary detention is unacceptable,” Guterres said in a statement, adding that the UN was trying to ensure the release of those imprisoned.

Since the middle of last year, the Houthis, who are supported by Iran, have imprisoned hundreds of UN and other humanitarian service members.

According to Guterres, the “continued targeting of UN personnel and its partners negatively impacts our ability to assist millions of people in need in Yemen.”

Reeling from a decade of war, Yemen is mired in a humanitarian catastrophe with more than 18 million people needing assistance and protection, according to the United Nations.

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Following the latest swoop, the United Nations has suspended “all official movements into and within” areas held by Houthis, the office of the resident UN coordinator for Yemen said.

The detentions come after United States President Donald Trump ordered the Houthis placed back on the US list of foreign terrorist organisations.

Re-listing the Houthis will trigger a review of UN agencies and other NGOs working in Yemen that receive US funding, according to the executive order signed on Wednesday.

‘Pressure Trump’

Mohammed al-Basha of the Basha Report, a US-based risk advisory, called the latest detentions “an expected reaction” to the “terrorist” designation.

“They assume that by detaining UN staff they’re going to be able to pressure the international community to pressure the Trump administration.”

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No immediate comment was available from the Houthis, who seized the capital Sanaa in 2014 and rule large parts of the impoverished country.

The rebels, saying they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians, have been attacking the Red Sea shipping route and firing on Israel since the outbreak of the Gaza war, prompting reprisal strikes from US, Israeli and British forces.

With a Gaza ceasefire starting last Sunday, the Houthis have made conciliatory moves including releasing the 25-strong international crew of the Galaxy Leader, a cargo ship they seized in the Red Sea in November 2023.

The rebels have also promised to tone down the Red Sea attacks and have said they would stop targeting Israel if it sticks to the ceasefire.

The Houthis have been at war with a Saudi-led coalition since 2015, although hostilities have fallen sharply since a UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022.

Since the start of the war, the Houthis have kidnapped, arbitrarily detained and tortured hundreds of civilians, including UN and NGO workers, according to rights groups.

In June, the rebels detained 13 UN personnel, including six employees of the Human Rights Office, and more than 50 NGO staff plus an embassy staff member.

They claimed they had arrested “an American-Israeli spy network” operating under the cover of humanitarian organisations – allegations emphatically rejected by the UN Human Rights Office.

Two other UN human rights staff had already been detained since November 2021 and August 2023 respectively.

In early August, the Houthis stormed the UNHCR office, forced staff to hand over the keys, and seized documents and property, before returning it later that month.