UK demands immediate release of UN staff detained by Houthis

Two Yemeni men employed by the UN are being detained by the Houthis. (File/AFP)

• UN officials have been given assurances by senior Houthi officials that the men would be released
• However, the two Yemeni men are still being detained by the militia

LONDON: The British ambassador to Yemen called on the Houthis to immediately release two Yemeni UN employees who are being detained by the militia.

“The UK is alarmed by reports of detention of UN staff in Yemen,” Richard Oppenheim said on Saturday.

“Aid workers must be allowed to do their work for the people of Yemen,” the ambassador said.

One of the Yemeni men detained by the Houthis works for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the other works for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. They were detained on Nov. 7 and Nov. 5 respectively.

UN officials were given assurances by senior Houthi officials that the men would be released, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Wednesday. However, they are still being detained.

Oppenheim urged the Houthis to abide by international law and called the detention of the UN employees “unacceptable.”