Dujarric: The Houthis have been detaining UN employees since Saturday news

United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that the Houthi group has been detaining 15 of the international organization’s foreign employees in its compound in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, since it stormed last Saturday.

He added that the employees were now able to move freely within the complex, and they are in contact with their families and United Nations agencies, expressing his hope that “they will be able to leave the complex as soon as possible.”

Dujarric reported the release of 5 Yemeni employees who had also been detained in the complex since last Saturday.

He stated that, in addition, the Houthis are still arbitrarily detaining 53 other employees of the international organization, some of them since 2021.

Dujarric said that United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke to the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Iran and Oman on Tuesday about the arrests.

The Houthis, allied with Iran, have controlled large areas in Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, since they seized power in 2014.

The United Nations has repeatedly rejected Houthi accusations of its employees or operations in Yemen of espionage. Last week, Dujarric described the accusations as “deeply disturbing.”

He said, “The accusations are like describing United Nations employees as spies or, as we have seen in other contexts, describing them as terrorists,” noting that “all that does is that it puts the lives of our employees everywhere at risk, which is unacceptable.”