Barran Press
The Houthi group, designated as a terrorist organization by several countries, continues to detain employees of international organizations and agencies in Sana'a, according to reports on Monday, July 8th, 2024. In response, these organizations have begun advertising administrative vacancies previously held by Yemeni employees who were recently abducted by the Houthis.
Yemeni journalist Faris Alhemyari, a correspondent for China's Xinhua news agency, reported that the Houthis arrested a retired employee (name withheld) who had worked for several international humanitarian organizations, including Oxfam and a Danish humanitarian program in Yemen.
Alhemyari detailed on his X account in a post seen by Barran Press, that the victim was apprehended after his home was raided by masked Houthi militants and female members of the "Zainabiyat" force. The house was thoroughly searched, his car and house ownership documents were confiscated, and the phones of several family members and other belongings were seized.
In another tweet, Al-hemyari revealed that an unnamed international organization in Sana'a has announced four vacant positions previously filled by administrative staff who were arrested in June and remain in Houthi custody. rights organizations and activists have accused international organizations and agencies of abandoning their Yemeni employees who have been kidnapped by the Houthis, failing to take decisive action to secure their release from prisons and prevent further abductions. They criticize the group's use of these employees as political pawns in the ongoing war, now in its tenth year.
In early June, the Houthi group launched a widespread campaign to arrest employees of international and UN organizations working in the capital Sana'a, and areas under their control.
On June 24th, 2024, Minister of Human Rights and Legal Affairs Ahmed Arman accused the Houthi group of "continuing a campaign of arrests against aid workers from international, UN, and local organizations in Sana'a," in a statement to Xinhua.
Minister Arman stated that the number of detainees has exceeded 70, confirming that they include employees of UN agencies, and international and local organizations, including five women.