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Iranian supported Houthi Rebels detained two dozen UN staff on Sunday, a day after attacking another UN facility in the capital sanaA UN official said.
Jean Alam, Spokesperson for the United Nations Local Coordinator yementold The Associated Press that U.N. staff were detained inside the facility in Hada, a southwestern neighborhood of Sanaa.
He said five people were among those detained on Sunday yemen and 15 international employees. He said the rebels released 11 other UN staff after questioning.
He said the UN is “liaising with the Houthis and other parties to resolve this serious situation as quickly as possible, end the detention of all personnel, and restore full control over their facilities in Sanaa.”
A second UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the raid, said rebels had seized all communications equipment from the facility, including phones, servers and computers.
The official said the detained staff belonged to several UN agencies, including the World Food Programme. UNICEF and Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The Houthis have launched a long-running crackdown against the United Nations and other international organizations working in rebel-held areas in Yemen, including Sanaa, the coastal city of Hodeida and rebel strongholds in Saada province in northern Yemen.
Dozens of people have been detained so far, including more than 50 UN staff. Earlier this year a World Food Program worker in Saada died in custody.
Rebels have repeatedly alleged, without evidence, that the detained were UN staff and spies working with other international groups and foreign embassies. The United Nations vehemently denied the allegations.
The United Nations was forced to suspend its operation in northern Yemen’s Saada province following the detention of eight staff in January. The United Nations moved its top humanitarian coordinator in Yemen from Sanaa to the coastal city of Aden, which serves as the seat of the internationally recognized government.