Yemen’s Houthis detain 20 UN staff in latest raid

After a raid on another UN-run facility in the country’s capital Sanaa, Yemen’s Houthi authorities confirmed that about 20 people have been detained.

Staff members were detained inside the Hada district compound on Sunday, according to Jean Alam, a UN representative.

At least five Yemeni employees and 15 international employees are among those incarcerated. Additional 11 UN employees were briefly interrogated before being released.

Alam stated that the UN is in close communication with the Houthis and other interested parties to “resolve this serious situation as quickly as possible, end all personnel detention, and restore full control over its Sanaa facilities.”

Under the condition of anonymity, a separate UN official claimed Houthi forces had taken all of the building’s communication equipment, including computers, phones, and servers.

The staff reportedly works for several UN organizations, including the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF for children, and OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs).

The Houthis have been conducting extensive crackdowns against the UN and other international aid organizations that are operating in their own country, including Saada province in the north, Sanaa, Hodeidah, the port city in the Red Sea, and Saada province in the north.

More than 50 employees are currently being detained, according to UN statistics.

Houthis claim that UN agents spy on Israel.

The UN has consistently refuted allegations that the Houthis have made that the UN has detained UN staff and members of foreign NGOs and embassies.

In response to previous detentions, the UN suspended Saada operations earlier this year and moved Sanaa to Aden, the country’s top humanitarian coordinator, to the country’s capital.

We will continue to call for the arbitrary detention of 53 of our colleagues, according to UN Secretary-General spokesman Stephane Dujarric in a statement released on Saturday.

Dujarric was responding to Houthi leader Abdelmalek al-Houthi’s televised address, in which he claimed his organization had “one of the most dangerous spy cells” and that it was “linked to humanitarian organizations like the World Food Programme and UNICEF” According to Dujarric, the accusations are “dangerous and unacceptable.”

The detentions have risen dramatically since Saturday’s raid. At least 21 UN employees have been detained since August 31, 2025, according to the UN, along with 23 current and former NGOs’ employees.