Houthi rebels raid UN premises in Yemen, detain at least 11 people

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels raided United Nations offices in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Sunday and detained at least 11 U.N. personnel, the body said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the Houthis forcibly entered World Food Programme premises, seized U.N. property and attempted to enter other U.N. offices in the capital.

The raid followed an Israeli strike on Sanaa on Thursday that killed the prime minister of Yemen's Houthi-run government and several other ministers.

U.N. Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said in a separate statement that the 11 staff were detained in both Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah.

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

Reform UK leader Farage eyes El Salvador deal to house foreign offenders

UNICEF, the U.N. Development Programme and the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees are among other U.N. agencies with offices in one or both of the two cities.

Grundberg said the detentions were in addition to 23 other U.N. staff previously detained, some since 2021, and one who died in detention this year.