Yemen's internationally recognized government on Saturday condemned the detention of 13 staff members from the United Nations (UN) and international and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Sanaa, describing the move as an escalation of the country's ongoing humanitarian crisis.
The foreign ministry, in a statement, characterized the detentions as a "flagrant violation of international humanitarian law" and warned that they directly endangered the lives and safety of humanitarian workers.
The condemnation follows a Friday announcement by the UN, which declared it was suspending all official movements in Houthi rebels-controlled area due to the arrests. This suspension follows the detention of seven additional UN staff members by the Houthi group.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a statement, called the continued detention "unacceptable," and affirmed that the UN is actively working to secure the release of the detained individuals.
The Houthis have detained dozens of staff from the UN and other humanitarian organizations, mostly since mid-2023 and in June 2024, they carried out a mass detention of staff from UN, international and local aid organizations in Sanaa.
The UN has repeatedly called for the release of those detained, including during a December 2024 visit to Sanaa by World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who sought to negotiate their release.