The United Nations said that 20 staff members – five Yemeni nationals and 15 foreigners – were taken prisoner by a pro-Iranian Houthi group after a raid on its premises in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.
According to Jean Alam, spokesman for the UN office in Yemen, the incident occurred on October 18 when the Houthi security forces made an “unauthorised entry” into the organisation’s compound.
The UN specified that it is negotiating with authorities in Sana’a, the Yemeni government and member states to “resolve this serious situation as quickly as possible, end the detention of all workers and restore full control of the premises.”
This is not the first such incident. On 31 August, the Houthis also stormed the UN offices in Sana’a and detained more than 11 staff members, accusing them of “spying for the US and Israel”.
Earlier, UN secretary-general’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric called such accusations “dangerous and unacceptable” and renewed calls for the dismissal of 53 UN workers held by the Houthis.
The UN says at least 21 of its staff and 23 representatives of international non-governmental organisations have been arrested in rebel-controlled areas since late August 2025.
“Yemen’s decade-long civil war has turned the country into one of the world’s deepest humanitarian crises,” the UN said.