A spokesman for António Guterres called for the immediate release of the UN staff, as 69 people are now detained in the country.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the detention of 10 more UN staff by the Houthis in Yemen.
Guterres’ spokesman Stephane Dujarric confirmed on Friday that the previous day’s arrests brought the number of detained local workers to 69 and called for their immediate release.
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“These arrests destabilise the delivery of UN humanitarian assistance in Houthi-controlled areas. This directly impacts millions of people in need and limits their access to life-saving assistance,” Dujarric said.
The Houthis, who control much of northwestern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, have stepped up arrests of UN staff since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, accusing them of spying for the United States and Israel.
The United Nations has repeatedly rejected Houthi allegations that its personnel or operations in Yemen are involved in espionage, a charge that carries the death penalty in the country.
On Thursday the organisation confirmed that all those detained were Yemeni citizens.
The latest arrests come days after Guterres discussed detained UN, diplomatic, and NGO staff with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman, who has acted as a mediator in the Yemeni conflict.
Guterres also commented on this week’s referral to a criminal court of three UN staff recently detained by the Houthis, saying they were charged in connection with the “performance of official UN duties” and calling for the charges to be dropped.
change in balance of power
A decade of civil war has plunged Yemen into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, according to the United Nations.
Guterres said this week that 19.5 million people in the country – about two-thirds of the population – needed humanitarian assistance.
The conflict has recently entered a new phase, as Southern Transitional Council (STC) separatists have increased their presence in southeastern Yemen – marking one of the largest regime shifts since the war began.
They now claim to control areas including the oil-rich eastern governorates of Hadramout and al-Mahra and the port city of Aden.
The STC, which wants to establish an independent state in Yemen’s south, has in the past fought against the Houthis alongside the internationally recognised, Saudi-backed government, which is based in Aden.
However, the STC’s advances in the south bring it into direct conflict with the government in Aden, known as the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), which described the seizure of territory as “unilateral and a gross violation.”.
The leader of the STC, Adraus al-Zubaidi, has a seat in the PLC, officially serving as one of its vice-presidents.
But relations have often been volatile between the group and the internationally recognised government, which has come under great pressure this year due to power outages and a currency crisis in areas under its control.
The two entities have fought before, particularly in 2018 and 2019, in Aden and its surrounding governorates.
This week, Guterres urged all sides to “exercise maximum restraint, reduce tensions, and resolve differences through dialogue.”
