The United States has held the Houthi group responsible for the safety of its embassy employees who have been detained in the group's prisons in Sana'a for a year.

In press statements, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken accused the Houthis of insulting the entire international community and ignoring diplomatic norms, as a result of their insistence on detaining local employees who were working at Washington's embassy in Yemen prior to the outbreak of war in the country.

He said that the continued detention of those local employees in Sana'a for a year, shows a blatant disregard for diplomatic norms and an insult to the entire international community by the Houthis.

He added, "A year ago today, Houthi forces infiltrated the compound that the US embassy was using as its headquarters in Sana'a before suspending its activities in Yemen in 2015 and began arresting local employees without justification."

"As of today, 12 employees currently and formerly serving with the United States and the United Nations are still being held, most of whom have not been allowed to communicate with their families, and one of them died in custody earlier this year," the US secretary added.

Blinken pledged to continue US efforts in coordination with regional and international partners to secure the release of these employees, calling on the Houthi group to urgently release these Yemeni citizens and return them to their families as evidence of their commitment to peace for the Yemeni people and their willingness to participate in a future government that respects the rule of law.

He stressed that the continuation of such arbitrary detention reduces the credibility of the Houthis and calls into question their desire to return to the path of peace and end the war that has been raging in the country for several years.