UN says seven staff detained in Houthi-controlled Yemen, all movement suspended

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DUBAI (Reuters) -The United Nations said on Friday that the Houthis who control northern Yemen had detained seven U.N. personnel, and it was suspending all UN staff movement in Houthi-held areas while seeking the detainees’ immediate release.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the move and demanded the immediate release of the detainees.

Earlier, the U.N. had said the arrests had taken place in the area of capital Sanaa.

All official movement of U.N. staff into or within Houthi-held areas has been suspended to protect the safety of staff.

“The United Nations will continue to work through all possible channels to secure the safe and immediate release of those arbitrarily detained,” Guterres said in a statement.

Houthi officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Houthis, who are aligned to Iran, have attacked shipping in the Red Sea, drawing airstrikes from the United States and Britain. The United Nations also complained last June that the group had detained 11 members of its staff.

“The continued targeting of UN personnel and its partners negatively impacts our ability to assist millions of people in need in Yemen,” Guterres said.

The Houthis have held around 20 Yemeni employees of the U.S. embassy in Sanaa for the past three years. The embassy suspended operations a decade ago.

(Reporting by Jana Choukeir in Dubai, Menna Alaa in Cairo, Mohammed Ghobari in Aden and David Ljunggren in Ottawa;Editing by Peter Graff and Rosalba O’Brien)