UN freezes aid operations in Yemeni region
Niger regime praises Mali for regaining control of Kidal
The United Nations announced that it has suspended all humanitarian operations in Yemen’s Houthi-controlled Saada region following the detention of eight additional UN staff members, The National reported.
Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General, has ordered all UN agencies, funds, and programmes to halt their activities in Saada due to insufficient security assurances, Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson, said.
“This extraordinary and temporary measure seeks to balance the imperative to stay and deliver with the need to have the safety and security of the UN personnel and its partners guaranteed,” Haq explained.
He continued explaining that the suspension aims to “give time to the de facto authorities and the United Nations to arrange the release of arbitrarily detained UN personnel and ensure that the necessary conditions are in place to deliver critical humanitarian support”.
In January 2025, the UN had initially reported that seven of its staff had been detained by the Houthis, but that figure has now been updated to eight.
Since taking control of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014 and ousting the internationally recognised government, the Houthis have been accused of abducting, unfairly imprisoning and torturing hundreds of civilians, including members of the UN and humanitarian organisations.
In June 2024, the Houthis detained 13 UN personnel—six of whom were from the Human Rights Office—alongside more than 50 aid workers and an employee of the US embassy.
The Houthis alleged they had uncovered an “American-Israeli spy network” disguised as humanitarian operations, a claim that was firmly denied by the UN Human Rights Office.
In early August, armed Houthis forces raided the UNHCR office in Yemen, seizing keys, documents, and property before giving them back.
Seven UN agencies, including the World Food Programme, the World Health Organisation, and UNICEF, operate in Saada, alongside international aid groups. In late January, the UN also halted all travel into Houthi-controlled regions.
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis remains critically underfunded. The UN had previously warned that its $2.7 billion appeal for 2024 received insufficient pledges, leaving major gaps in addressing peoples needs.
The National
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