Houthis Arrest Three More UN Staff in Yemen, Latest in Ongoing Crackdown on Aid Workers

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have arrested three local United Nations employees, including two women, accusing them of spying for Israel, a Houthi security source told AFP on Sunday.

According to the source, the two women, both working for the World Food Program (WFP), were detained from their homes in the rebel-held capital Sanaa on Saturday, while a Yemeni male colleague from the same agency was arrested later that night.

“Security and intelligence services in Sanaa still have a list of people wanted for collaborating with the Israeli and American enemy,” the source added.

The arrests mark the latest in a widening campaign against UN and NGO personnel in Houthi-controlled areas. Earlier this week, seven other UN employees were detained on similar accusations of “colluding with Israel,” bringing the total number of detained UN staff to at least ten in recent days.

The wave of detentions follows last week’s raid on the UN compound in Sanaa, during which Houthi forces held 20 staff members—15 of them foreigners—before releasing them hours later.

Twelve of those foreign employees reportedly left Yemen on Wednesday.

The United Nations said Friday that a total of 55 of its personnel have been arrested by the Houthis since 2021, calling the detentions “deeply concerning” and demanding their immediate release.

Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi has accused several UN agencies, including the WFP and UNICEF, of “aggressive espionage,” alleging that some played a role in Israeli strikes that killed the group’s prime minister during a cabinet meeting in August.

UN officials have rejected these allegations as baseless and dangerous, warning that such rhetoric puts humanitarian workers at risk in an already volatile environment.

The Houthis, who seized Sanaa in 2014, have controlled large parts of northern Yemen throughout the country’s devastating civil war. Backed militarily and politically by Iran, the group has faced a Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government, resulting in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Over 70 percent of the population relies on aid, much of which is distributed by UN agencies now facing growing restrictions and threats.

Since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, the Houthis have launched dozens of missile and drone attacks toward Israel and international vessels in the Red Sea, saying their actions are in “solidarity with the Palestinian people.”

These operations have severely disrupted global shipping through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, forcing several major maritime companies to reroute trade.

In response, the United States and its allies have launched strikes on Houthi military positions, while Israel has conducted limited retaliatory attacks on targets in Yemen.

The Houthis have vowed to continue their operations until “Israeli aggression against Gaza” ends, further isolating the group and exacerbating Yemen’s diplomatic and economic isolation.

Experts warn that the latest arrests of UN workers underscore the Houthis’ growing hostility toward international institutions and could jeopardize ongoing efforts to secure humanitarian access and potential peace negotiations under UN mediation.

The UN continues to negotiate for the release of its detained staff, while agencies such as the WFP and UNICEF have scaled back field operations in some areas of Yemen, citing “serious security risks and lack of guarantees” from Houthi authorities.