The arrests come as the Houthis have targeted shipping in the Red Sea corridor due to the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
At least eleven Yemeni employees of United Nations agencies have been detained by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in unclear circumstances, authorities said Friday, as the rebels face growing financial pressure and airstrikes from the part of a coalition led by the United States. Others working for humanitarian aid groups were also likely kidnapped.
The arrests come as the Houthis, who seized Yemen’s capital nearly a decade ago and are now fighting a Saudi-led coalition, have targeted shipping in the corridor. Red Sea due to the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
While attracting international attention, the secretive group has cracked down on dissidents at home, recently sentencing 44 people to death.
Regional officials, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief journalists, confirmed the U.N. detentions. Those detained include employees of the U.N. human rights agency, its development program, the World Food Program and an employee of the special envoy’s office, the officials said. The wife of one of them is also detained.
The UN declined to comment immediately.