Houthi forces detain UN staff in Yemen following airstrikes

Houthi forces have detained at least 19 United Nations staff during raids on UN offices in Sana’a, Yemen’s capital, the UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric has confirmed.

Thus, 18 of those detained are Yemeni nationals, with one foreign staff member also held, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

He called for the immediate release of all those in custody.

The raids targeted offices of the UN’s food, medical, and child-focused agencies, and came in the wake of Israel’s killing of the Houthi prime minister, Ahmed al-Rahawi.

Dujarric noted that the Houthis have previously detained 23 UN staff members, some of whom have been held since 2021.

Houthis confirmed that their self-declared prime minister was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sanaa earlier this week.

Several other senior Houthi officials, including ministers, were also reported dead or injured.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said Rahawi and other senior figures were “eliminated” after intelligence identified a gathering in the capital. Muhammad Ahmed Miftah, the Houthi deputy prime minister, is set to replace Rahawi.

The Houthis, who have controlled much of north-western Yemen since 2014, have launched missiles at Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in support of Palestinians. Israel has carried out repeated airstrikes in Houthi-held areas to curb these attacks.

By Aghakazim Guliyev