Yemen: Houthis Reportedly Detain UN Workers

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Facts

• A spokesperson for the United Nations said on Friday that Houthi security forces have detained Yemeni staff, two women and nine men, from five different agencies and the office of its special envoy over the past three days under unclear circumstances.¹
• Earlier, officials from the internationally recognized Yemeni government said that Houthi intelligence had detained at least nine UN employees and six members of two other organizations — a human rights group and the National Democratic Institute — in raids on homes and offices.²
• In addition, the local Aden-based human rights organization Mayyun, citing its own sources, said that 18 people were arrested across four Houthi-controlled provinces, including from UNICEF, OXFAM, and Save the Children.³
• Neither the Houthis nor their affiliated media outlets immediately acknowledged the detentions. Four other UN staffers were detained in 2021 and 2023 and remain held by the group.⁴
• This comes as the Houthis have cracked down on domestic dissent, sentencing 44 people to death, and have introduced a new coin into the Yemeni riyal amid a currency crisis.⁵
• On Thursday, Bloomberg News reported that Washington could potentially risk jeopardizing a peace plan to end the almost decade-long Yemen war due to its recent efforts to apply pressure on the Houthis to curb their seven-month campaign in the Red Sea.⁶

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²Jerusalem Post, ³AL, ⁴FOX News, ⁵Associated Press and ⁶Bloomberg.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Brookings. The Houthis have long miscalculated the potential benefits of their terrorist activities. From their years-long civil war — which has cost Yemeni lives dearly while Iran faces little impact — to attacking aid workers and cargo ships, the world has grown no closer to recognizing them. Despite Western forces backing down militarily, so long as Houthi attacks on civilians continue, economic sanctions will remain. Yemen's ability to rebuild and prosper is now solely in Houthi hands.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Grayzone. The Houthi movement began as a fight against America's post-9/11 killing of millions of Arabs and continues in response to Israel's genocide in Gaza. The Houthis have never blamed, nor attacked Western people but rather western governments like the US and UK. Since 2019, even US allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have sought peace, but Washington has hindered such efforts every step of the way.

Predictions