NEW YORK: Twelve international United Nations employees who had been held by Yemen’s Houthis inside their compound flew out of the rebel-held capital on Wednesday, the UN said.
The Iran-backed Houthis raided the UN compound in the capital Sanaa last weekend, holding 20 staff, including 15 foreigners. Five Yemeni nationals were released on Sunday.
The rebels have harassed and detained UN staff and aid workers for years, accusing them of spying, but they have accelerated arrests since the start of the Gaza war.
“Earlier today, 12 UN international staff who were among those previously held in the UN compound in Yemen departed Sanaa on a UN Humanitarian Air Service flight,” said a statement released by UN Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres’s spokesperson.
Some of them will relocate to Amman, Jordan, UN spokesman Farhan Haq told a news conference, not ruling out further travel or a return to Yemen.
