Yemen's Houthis Detain UN Employees    10/20 08:09

   

   CAIRO (AP) -- Iranian-backed Houthi rebels detained two dozen U.N. employees 
Sunday, a day after they raided another U.N. facility in the capital Sanaa, a 
U.N. official said.

   Jean Alam, a spokesman for the U.N. resident coordinator for Yemen, told The 
Associated Press that the U.N. staffers were detained inside the facility in 
Sanaa's southwestern neighborhood of Hada.

   He said those detained Sunday include five Yemenis and 15 international 
staff. He said the rebels released another 11 U.N. staffers after questioning.

   He said the U.N. was contact with the Houthis and other parties to "to 
resolve this serious situation as swiftly as possible, end the detention of all 
personnel, and restore full control over its facilities in Sanaa."

   A second U.N. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the 
raid, said the rebels confiscated all communications equipment from the 
facility, including phones, servers and computers.

   The official said the detained employees belong to multiple U.N. agencies 
including the World Food Program, UNICEF and the Office for the Coordination of 
Humanitarian Affairs.

   The Houthis have launched a long-running crackdown against the U.N. and 
other international organizations working in rebel-held areas in Yemen 
including Sanaa, the coastal city of Hodeida and the rebel stronghold in Sadaa 
province in northern Yemen.

   Dozens of people, including over 50 U.N. staffers, have been detained so 
far. A World Food Program worker died in detention earlier this year in Sadaa.

   The rebels have repeatedly alleged without evidence that the detained U.N. 
staffers and those working with other international groups and foreign 
embassies were spies. The U.N. fiercely denied the accusations.

   The crackdown forced the U.N. to suspend its operations in Saada province in 
northern Yemen following the detention of eight staffers in January. The U.N. 
also relocated its top humanitarian coordinator in Yemen from Sanaa to the 
coastal city of Aden, which serves as seat for the internationally recognized 
government.