Sanaa — Houthi authorities in Yemen have detained additional United Nations employees in a new wave of arrests, raising the total number of UN staff held in Houthi-controlled areas to 60, according to international rights organizations and UN officials.

The latest detentions occurred during a raid on a UN facility in Sanaa’s Hada district, where Houthi forces reportedly apprehended 20 staff members, including 15 international personnel and 5 Yemeni nationals. The United Nations has condemned the arrests as arbitrary and in violation of international law, demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all detained employees.

This escalation follows earlier incidents in January and September 2025, during which Houthi forces detained at least eight UN workers and raided offices of humanitarian agencies, including the World Food Programme (WFP). UN Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly criticized the crackdown, warning that such actions jeopardize humanitarian operations and violate the UN’s diplomatic protections.

The detainees include staff from various UN agencies working on food security, health, education, and refugee support. Many have been held without formal charges, and their whereabouts remain unknown.

Human Rights Watch and other civil society organizations have called on the international community to pressure Houthi leadership to end its campaign against UN and NGO personnel. “This is part of a broader assault on civil society and humanitarian access in Yemen,” said a joint statement from 25 organizations.

The UN has appointed Maeen Shureim, former deputy envoy to Yemen, to lead efforts to secure the release of detained staff and engage with regional actors to resolve the crisis diplomatically.