Houthis detain Yemeni staff for UN, US organisations

Houthi security forces have detained 11 United Nations personnel in Yemen over the past three days and the U.N. is seeking their safe and unconditional release as soon as possible, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Friday.
He said the U.N. was very concerned about the developments and was seeking clarification from the Houthis about why the Yemeni staff were detained. The two women and nine men work for five different U.N. agencies and the U.N. envoy for Yemen.
“We’re pursuing all available channels to secure the safe and unconditional release of all of them as rapidly as possible,” said Dujarric, adding that the U.N. also wanted access to the staff.
In a series of raids, armed Houthi intelligence officers detained at least nine U.N. employees, three employees of the U.S.-funded pro-democracy group National Democratic Institute (NDI) and three employees of a local human rights group, three officials of Yemen’s internationally recognised government told
Reuters on Friday.