RIYADH: The UN’s World Food Programme said that Yemen’s Houthis detained one of its employees in the militant-held capital Sanaa on Sunday, with more staff members feared apprehended elsewhere in the country.
“WFP’s offices in Sanaa were entered by local security forces who have detained a staff member, with reports of other detentions (of staff) in other areas,” the agency said in a statement to AFP.
It added that it was “urgently seeking additional information” from the Houthi authorities, who seized the capital Sanaa in 2014 and now control large parts of Yemen.
A security source told AFP that seven WFP employees and three UNICEF workers were arrested on Sunday after their offices had been raided.
The WFP statement said that “the arbitrary detention of humanitarian staff is unacceptable. The safety and security of personnel is essential to carrying out life-saving humanitarian work.”
