Yemen, Sept 6 (FN Agency) The European Union (EU) on Thursday issued a warning about the ongoing detention of United Nations staff and other aid workers by the Houthi group in Sanaa, Yemen. In statements issued on social media platform X, the EU Heads of Mission to Yemen, the group of ambassadors and senior diplomats representing the EU and its member states in Yemen, expressed deep concern over the “arbitrary detention by the Houthis of staff working for the United Nations, international and local NGOs, and diplomatic missions in Yemen.” They noted that the detainees have been held “incommunicado and now over 90 days,” which is “severely hampering the capacity of the international community” to deliver essential assistance to millions of Yemenis in urgent need of assistance.
The EU diplomats also voiced their full support for “the repeated international calls, led by UN Secretary-General (Antonio) Guterres, for their immediate and unconditional release.” In early June, the Houthi group arrested dozens of workers from UN agencies, international organisations, and local NGOs in Sanaa. Following the arrests, the group, through its media outlets, accused the detainees of collaborating with foreign intelligence agencies, particularly the United States. The Houthi group has controlled Sanaa and most of the northern Yemeni provinces since late 2014, and has since been engaged in a years-long military conflict with the Yemeni government forces. The conflict has resulted in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, according to the UN.