UN Evacuates 12 International Staff from Sanaa After Being Detained by Houthis
Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
The United Nations announced on Wednesday that it had evacuated 12 international staff members who had been detained by the Houthi group inside a UN compound in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.
In a statement, the organization said that “twelve UN staff members left Sanaa today aboard a United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) flight, after being among those previously detained in the UN compound.”
The statement added that “three other detained staff members are now able to move and travel freely.”
The UN noted that 53 of its staff remain under arbitrary detention by the Houthis, along with several employees of non-governmental organizations, civil society institutions, and even some working in diplomatic missions.
The Houthi group had stormed the UN’s residential compound in Sanaa on October 18 and detained 15 international officials of various nationalities working with UN agencies and programs.
Two days after the detention, the group allowed the staff members to move freely within the compound before the UN began their evacuation today.
