CAIRO: The Iran-backed Houthis raided offices of the United Nations’ food, health and children’s agencies in Yemen’s capital Sunday, detaining at least 11 UN employees, officials said. The rebels tightened security across Sanaa after Israel killed their prime minister and several Cabinet members.
Abeer Etefa, a spokesperson for the World Food Program, told The Associated Press that security forces raided the agencies’ offices in the Houthi-controlled capital Sunday morning.
Also raided were offices of the World Health Organization and UNICEF, according to a UN official and a Houthi official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to brief the media. The UN official said armed forces raided the offices and questioned employees in the parking lot.
Ammar Ammar, a spokesperson for UNICEF, said a number of the agency’s staffers were detained, and UNICEF was seeking additional information from the Houthis.
Both Etefa and Ammar said their agencies were conducting “a comprehensive head count” of their employees in Sanaa and other Houthi-held areas.
