Seven Yemeni UN workers detained in Sanaa, accused of spying for Israel

DUBAI: Seven Yemeni employees of the United Nations have been detained in the rebel-held capital Sanaa on accusations of spying for Israel, a Huthi security source told AFP on Friday (Oct 24), in the latest wave of arrests targeting UN staff.

The detentions follow the release earlier this week of 20 UN staff, including 15 foreigners, who were confined to their compound after a raid last weekend.

The Iran-backed Huthis have long harassed and detained UN and aid workers, but such incidents have accelerated since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

“Seven United Nations employees, all of them Yemenis, have been arrested from late last night until this afternoon on charges of spying for Israel,” a security source in Sanaa said. Another Huthi source confirmed the arrests but did not specify the number.

UN CONDEMNS ARRESTS

At a regular briefing in New York, UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said that two UN staff had been detained on Thursday, among the 55 UN personnel currently held by the Huthis.

“These actions are forcing us to reassess the way in which we work in areas controlled by the Huthis,” Haq said.

The internationally recognised Yemeni government in Aden condemned the new arrests, calling them “an escalation”.

The Huthis, part of Iran’s ‘axis of resistance’ against Israel and the United States, have repeatedly launched attacks on ships in the Red Sea and fired projectiles toward Israel, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians.

Israel has carried out multiple retaliatory strikes, including one in August that killed the Huthi premier and nearly half his cabinet.

Earlier this month, rebel leader Abdulmalik al-Huthi accused UN employees of involvement in the Israeli strike, without providing evidence, a claim the UN rejected.

In September, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen was relocated from Sanaa to Aden amid growing security concerns.