Iran-Backed Houthis Abduct U.N. Workers in Yemen

The Iran-backed Houthi insurgency detained at least 15 Yemeni employees of international organizations in a string of raids on Thursday, including employees of the United Nations, according to the internationally recognized government of Yemen.

Armed Houthi intelligence officers reportedly raided the homes and offices of nine U.N. employees, plus three people who work for a U.S.-funded group called the National Democracy Institute (NDI) and three others who work for a local human rights organization. The nine detained U.N. employees work for the offices of human rights and humanitarian affairs.

In addition to the detentions, Houthi operatives confiscated computers and phones from their targets.

The Mayyun Organization for Human Rights, a non-governmental group based in southern Aden, condemned the Houthi raids and demanded the immediate release of the prisoners. Aden is currently the headquarters of the legitimate government of Yemen, while the Houthis control the national capital, Sana’a.

The group said:

We condemn in the strongest terms this dangerous escalation, which constitutes a violation of the privileges and immunities of United Nations employees granted to them under international law, and we consider it to be oppressive, totalitarian, blackmailing practices to obtain political and economic gains.

Mayyun said the number of detainees could be as high as 18, including people arrested during Houthi raids in the provinces of Amran, Hodeidah, Saada, and Sana’a. Mayyun said the detainees include employees of UNICEF, Oxfam, Save the Children, and a local civil society group called Responsiveness for Relief and Development.

The Houthis were able to launch these raids because they control Sana’a, having ejected the legitimate government at the dawn of their insurgency in 2014. The Houthis have been waging a campaign of piracy and terrorism in the Red Sea with Iran’s blessing and cooperation, interfering with a considerable portion of the world’s shipping.

The Houthi insurgency is incredibly brutal, committing human rights offenses such as forced starvation and recruiting child soldiers. The Biden administration nevertheless rescinded the Houthis’ designation as terrorists early in President Joe Biden’s term and has stubbornly resisted pressure to restore it. In January 2024, the administration gave the Houthis a lesser “Specially Designated Global Terrorist Group” designation for their constant attacks on civilian ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

The Houthi insurgency turned Yemen into one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, with more than three million people displaced and roughly 80 percent of the population requiring humanitarian assistance. The Houthis, nevertheless, seem to have abundant funding for missiles and attack drones.

The Houthis have arrested U.N. staffers before, including employees of the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

On June 1, a Houthi court sentenced 44 people to death for allegedly “collaborating with the enemy.” One of them was Adnan al-Harazi, the CEO of a Sana’a-based company that helped to distribute humanitarian aid. The Houthis seized Harazi’s property in addition to sentencing him to death.

Yemeni lawyer Abdel-Majeed Sabra said the Houthi detainees were tortured “physically and psychologically” during their captivity. Sabra and the other defense lawyers withdrew at the beginning of the “trial” because Houthi judges refused to share court documents with them.