UN halts operations in Houthi strongholds of Yemen after staff detentions

The United Nations has said it suspended its humanitarian operations in the stronghold of Yemen’s Houthis after they detained eight more UN staffers, affecting the global response to one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.

In a statement, the UN said the “extraordinary” decision to pause all operations and programmes in northern Saada province was due to the lack of necessary security conditions and guarantees.

A spokesman for the Houthis didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

None of the UN staffers has been released.

The UN statement said the pause in operations is meant to give the Houthis and the world body time to “arrange the release of arbitrarily detained UN personnel and ensure that the necessary conditions are in place to deliver critical humanitarian support” in group-held areas.

It said the latest detained UN staffers taken late last month included six working in Saada, on Yemen’s northern border with Saudi Arabia.

Seven UN agencies operate in Saada, including the World Food Program, the World Health Organization and UNICEF, along with several international aid organisations, according to the UN humanitarian agency.

The UN late last month suspended all travel into Houthi areas.

The UN had projected that over 19 million people across Yemen will need humanitarian assistance this year as many deal with climate shocks, malnutrition, cholera and the economic effects of war.

In January, the Houthis unilaterally freed 153 war detainees as one of several overtures to ease tensions after the ceasefire in Israel's war on Gaza.