— Five national staff members and 15 international staff members are being held at the UN buildingwhich was raided by Houthi rebels on Saturday, Alam said, as quoted by AFP. “Houthi security forces entered the facility without permission,” he stressed.
The crisis in Yemen is deepening
The occupation of the building means an escalation of tensions between the Shiite rebels controlling, among others, over the country's capital and UN agencies operating in Yemen. In late August, Houthi forces had already raided several UN offices in Sanaa, arresting at least 11 staff. They were accused of spying for the United States and Israel.
Alam told The Associated Press that the U.N. is in contact with the Houthis and other parties to “resolve the current grave situation as quickly as possible, end the detention of all personnel and restore the organization's full control over its facilities in Sanaa.”
A second UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the fighters took from the facility, among others: phones, servers and computers.
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The Arab News website recalled that Houthi actions targeting international and aid organizations have been ongoing for a long time. Dozens of people were detained, one of them died in custody at the beginning of the year.
In a televised speech on Thursday, rebel leader Abdelmalek al-Houthi said his forces had dismantled “one of the most dangerous spy cells … linked to humanitarian organizations such as the World Food Program and UNICEF.” Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric He described the accusations as “dangerous and unacceptable” on Saturday. He added that they “seriously threaten the safety of UN staff and humanitarian workers and hamper the conduct of operations.”
Faced with the deteriorating security situation, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) moved its headquarters from Sana'a to Aden, the interim capital of Yemen controlled by the internationally recognized government, in mid-September.
After more than a decade of civil war, Yemen still struggles with one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. Humanitarian organizations estimate that half of the population in Yemen suffers from hunger, and nearly 50 percent. children under five years of age are chronically malnourished. A recent UN report shows that by early 2026, over 18 million people in Yemen will face a hunger crisisincluding approximately 41 thousand will be at risk of famine. Yemen has a population of over 41 million.
