Houthis abduct 50 Yemeni employees of UN, US organisations

Yemeni Human Rights Minister Ahmed Arman has said that more than 50 Yemenis employed by UN, US and other foreign organisations have been abducted by the Houthis following raids on their homes in Sanaa.

Arman said that 18 people working for UN agencies — including the UNDP, OCHA, WFP, High Commissioner for Human Rights and the office of Yemen’s envoy — and at least 32 employed by the US-funded National Democratic Institute, Partners Yemen, the German-funded GIZ, Resonate Yemen and others had been taken, Caliber.Az reports citing Arab News.

“The Houthi raids lasted from June 6 morning until approximately 4 a.m. on June 7. They invaded residences of Yemenis working for foreign organisations and even snatched others who used to work with such organisations,” he told Arab News.

The ministry said the arrests were the latest in a series of such moves that began on May 31 when a man and his family, including children, were abducted from their home in Sanaa. Two more homes were raided the following day.

Arman reiterated his call for UN and other foreign organisations to move their headquarters from Houthi-held Sanaa to the Yemeni government’s stronghold in Aden.

“We repeatedly warned the UN that the Houthis treatment of its personnel, mostly Yemenis, would deteriorate, so we requested that they relocate their headquarters to Aden. But the UN dismissed our pleas for reasons we don’t understand,” he said.

The latest abductions came after a Houthi-run court last month condemned a Yemeni businessman working with foreign relief groups and 43 others to death on spying allegations.

Human rights groups, journalists and officials have condemned the raids, with dozens signing an online petition urging the Houthis to release their captives. They also warned the group that their actions could lead to aid agencies leaving the country, which would deprive Yemenis of life-saving humanitarian aid.