Barran Press
On January 9, 2025, local sources reported that the Houthi movement, designated internationally as a terrorist organization, has initiated a new wave of arrests since Sunday, targeting former Yemeni employees of various Arab and foreign diplomatic missions and embassies.
According to Fares Alhemyari, a correspondent for China's Xinhua News Agency in Yemen, the Houthi campaign has affected dozens of former security and guard personnel who worked at the American, British, and Saudi embassies, among others.
Alhemyari shared on X that the arrests were conducted "brutally," with masked gunmen carrying out simultaneous raids on homes using armored vehicles and security trucks, including a bus carrying female police officers known as "Zainabiyat." This has instilled fear among local residents and neighbors of the targeted individuals.
He reported that all detainees were taken to unknown locations, and their families have been denied contact with them. Additionally, the group confiscated personal belongings from the homes of those arrested during the raids.
Among the detainees is Riyad Al-Saidi, a former employee of the U.S. embassy, who was arrested at his father’s home in the Al-Attan neighborhood. Another former U.S. embassy employee, Mohammed Al-Shalali, was also taken from his home on Hael Street.
Alhemyari noted that the Houthis also arrested Yahya Al-Yemeni, a former employee of the British embassy, as he returned home after dropping off his daughters at school in the Al-Huda neighborhood. He mentioned that, at the request of some community members, the names of several detainees have been withheld from publication.
This is not the first such campaign; the Houthis previously conducted widespread arrests in June 2024, targeting dozens of UN employees and former staff from foreign embassies and missions.