00:00Houthis raid UN offices in Yemen and detain at least 11 employees.
00:05The Iran-backed Houthis raided offices of the United Nations Food,
00:08Health and Children's Agencies in Yemen's capital yesterday, 31,
00:12detaining at least 11 UN employees, officials said.
00:15The rebels tightened security across Sana'a after Israel killed their prime minister and
00:20several cabinet members. Abir Etafa, a spokesperson for the World Food Program,
00:25told the Associated Press that security forces raided the agency's offices in the
00:29Houthi-controlled capital Sunday morning. Also raided were offices of the World Health Organization
00:34and UNICEF, according to a UN official and a Houthi official, who spoke on condition of
00:39anonymity because they weren't authorized to brief the media. The UN official said armed forces raided
00:44the offices and questioned employees in the parking lot. Amar Amar, a spokesperson for UNICEF,
00:50said a number of the agency's staffers were detained, and UNICEF was seeking additional
00:54information from the Houthis. Both Etafa and Amar said their agencies were conducting
00:59a comprehensive headcount of their employees in Sana'a and other Houthi-held areas.
01:04UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in a statement late Sunday said at least 11 personnel
01:09had been detained. He condemned their detentions and the forced entry into the premises of the
01:14World Food Program, the seizure of UN property and attempts to enter other UN premises in Sana'a.
01:21Guterres called for the immediate and unconditional release of the personnel detained Sunday as well
01:26as those detained in the past. The raids were the latest in a long-running Houthi crackdown against
01:31the UN and other international organizations working in rebel-held areas in Yemen. They have
01:36detained dozens of UN staffers, as well as people associated with aid groups, civil society and the
01:41now-closed US embassy in Sana'a. The UN suspended its operations in the Houthi stronghold of Sada in
01:47northern Yemen after the rebels detained eight UN staffers in January.
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