UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is slamming Yemen’s Houthi authorities for grabbing another 10 UN workers. He thinks these arrests could disrupt aid deliveries in a country already facing a huge humanitarian crisis.
Stephane Dujarric said on Friday that the number of UN local staff stuck in Yemen is now 69. He wants them released as soon as possible and is worried about how this is harming aid access.
Dujarric said these arrests will make it harder for the UN to get aid to people in Houthi-controlled areas. This puts millions who need help to survive at greater risk, and it’s becoming an emergency.
The Houthis, who are aligned with Iran and control much of northwest Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, have been arresting more UN staff since Israel started its war on Gaza in October 2023. They’re accusing UN staff of being spies for the US and Israel, but the UN denies this. In Yemen, spying can carry the death penalty.
The UN confirmed on Thursday that detained workers are Yemeni.
These arrests happened a few days after Guterres spoke with Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq about the detained UN staff and others. Oman has tried to act as peacemaker in the area, and Guterres is asking them to help get people freed.
This week, the Secretary-General also addressed the Houthis sending three detained UN staff to court, saying they were charged for doing their UN jobs. Guterres wants the charges dropped immediately so they can return to work.
Ten years of civil war have turned Yemen into a disaster. The UN estimates about 19.5 million people, almost two-thirds of the population, need help to survive.
Things are changing as separatists from the Southern Transitional Council (STC) take over more land in southeast Yemen. They say they now control areas like the oil-rich governorates of Hadramout and al-Mahra, as well as the port city of Aden. It’s a significant change since the war started. It has its own southern country and has fought with the Saudi-backed government against the Houthis before. But now that it’s taking more land, relations with the government, officially called the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), are tense, with the government calling its moves a blatant violation.
Aidarous al-Zubaidi, who leads the STC, is a vice chairman on the PLC, but both groups have not gotten along. The government is struggling with public anger over power cuts and money problems. The PLC and the STC have even fought before, in 2018 and 2019, around Aden.
As things change and humanitarian needs increase, Guterres this week urged everyone to stay calm and talk through problems.
With almost 70 UN staff detained, diplomatic pressure building, and aid access getting harder, the stakes are high for Yemen. The continued detention of aid workers could make things even worse at a time when millions of Yemenis are at risk. It is a harsh reminder of what the conflict is costing people there.
