Daijiworld Media Network - Aden

Aden, Jan 27: Hans Grundberg, the UN special envoy to Yemen, met with Mohammed Abdulsalam, head of the Houthi negotiating delegation, in Muscat, Oman, to address the detention of UN staff and other personnel in Houthi-controlled Sanaa.

Grundberg condemned the "arbitrary detention" of additional UN staff, joining those detained in 2021, 2023, and 2024. In a statement shared on social media platform X, he demanded the immediate release of all detained UN employees, NGO workers, civil society members, and diplomats, reiterating the UN’s commitment to achieving a peaceful resolution in Yemen.

The UN’s official movements in Houthi-controlled regions were suspended on Friday following the detention of seven more UN staff members. Reports suggest that since mid-2023, the Houthis have detained dozens of individuals, including 13 UN staff and over 50 NGO workers.

The Houthis claim these detainees were part of ‘an American-Israeli spy network’ linked to the CIA, though these allegations have been widely contested. Efforts to secure their release included a December 2024 visit to Sanaa by WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who personally negotiated with Houthi leaders.

The Houthis have controlled Sanaa and much of northern Yemen since 2014, engaging in conflict with Yemeni government forces. The prolonged war has created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, according to the UN.

The detention of UN and humanitarian workers poses a significant challenge to international relief efforts in Yemen, further compounding the crisis in the region.