Houthicontrolled

Aug. 31 (UPI) — At least 11 United Nations employees in Yemen were abducted by Houthi-controlled authorities Sunday after they raided World Food Program facilities in the capital Sanaa.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced and condemned the abduction in a statement that also demanded the “immediate and unconditional release” of those detained.

The U.N.’s WFP provides life-saving food assistance to children and mothers in a country considered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises due to the nearly 12-year civil war between the Houthi militants and the internationally recognized Yemeni government.

The raid followed Israeli airstrikes on Houthi-controlled Sanaa on Friday, which killed its prime minister, Ahmed al-Rawai, along with several other ministers.

Sunday’s arrests increases the number of U.N. workers detained by the Houthis to 23, some whom have been in captivity since 2021 and 2023, Hans Grundberg, U.N. special envoy for Yemen, said in a separate statement.

“The work of U.N. personnel is designed and conducted under the principles of neutrality, impartiality, independence and humanity,” Grundberg said.

“These arrests violate the fundamental obligation to respect and protect their safety, dignity and ability to carry out their essential work in Yemen.”

Both Guterres and Grundberg confirmed that U.N. property had been confiscated by the Houthis during their Sunday raid, though exactly what taken was not detailed.

Both officials also demanded that the Iran-backed Houthis unconditionally release all U.N. personnel and staff from national and international NGOs, civil society organizations and diplomatic missions who have been taken over the years.

“The personnel of the U.N. and its partners must never be targeted, arrested or detained while carrying out their duties for the U.N.,” Guterres said.

“The safety and security of U.N. personnel and property as well as the inviolability of U.N. premises must be guaranteed at all times.”

May 28 (UPI) — Israeli warplanes struck the Houthi-controlled Sanaa International Airport in Yemen on Wednesday morning, the Israel Defense Forces said, seemingly in response to missiles recently launched by the militant group toward Israel.

The IDF said in a statement on X that its airstrikes targeted unidentified aircraft belonging to the Houthis.

“The aircraft that were attacked were used by the Houthi terrorist regime to transport terrorists who promoted terrorist acts against the State of Israel,” it said.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strike destroyed the last remaining planes used by the Houthis at the site that remained following the IDF’s previous attack on the airport on May 6.

“This is a clear message and a direct continuation of the policy we established: Whoever fires at the State of Israel will pay a heavy price,” Katz said in the statement, The Times of Israel reported.

“The ports in Yemen will continue to be struck heavily, and the airport in Sanaa will be destroyed again and again, as will other strategic infrastructures in the area used by the Houthi terror organization and its supporters.”

Houthis, an Iran-backed group, have repeatedly attacked Israel since early in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which began on Oct. 7, 2023, in response to Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw another 251 kidnapped.

The involvement of the Houthis, also an Iran-proxy militia, increased starting in mid-November when it started to enforce a military blockade of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, vowing to attack Israeli ships attempting to pass. It said the blockade was in solidarity with the Palestinian people. The rebels followed by broadening targets to include U.S. military ships.

Israel, with its allies, including the United States, have responded with conducting mass airstrikes in Yemen.

On May 6, Israel attacked the airport in Sanaa, and last week conducted similar airstrikes on ports in Hodeidah and al-Salif.

On Tuesday, the IDF said it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen.

“This is another example of the Houthi terrorist organization’s brutal use of civilian infrastructure for terrorist activities,” the IDF said Wednesday morning on X, seemingly in reference to the Sanaa airport.

“The IDF is determined to continue to act and strike with force anyone who poses a threat to the residents of the State of Israel, at whatever distance is required.”