Houthis shutter UN human rights agency in Sanaa

AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s Houthi militia has asked a UN human rights agency in Sanaa to close its office.

The move comes amid an escalating crackdown on UN agencies and international organizations, according to a Yemeni government minister and local media.

Yemeni Human Rights Minister Ahmed Arman told Arab News on Tuesday that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights office in Sanaa received a letter from Houthi Foreign Minister Hisham Sharaf on Monday asking that the office be closed within three days. No explanation for the request was given.

“The office will be closed down by Thursday. The Houthis intend to shut offices of foreign organizations that do not produce help or money, such as those for human rights, capacity-building and development groups,” Arman said.

In May, the Houthis began surprise attacks on UN agencies, Western missions, and human rights and assistance groups in the regions they control. They have abducted more than 70 Yemenis working for such organizations, including nine women.

The Houthis have accused Yemenis working with international organizations of using humanitarian efforts as a cover for espionage activities on behalf of the US and Israel, of employing agents for both countries and undermining the country’s agricultural, health, and educational sectors.

Arman connected recent Houthi raids and arrests to efforts to seize control of humanitarian aid by placing loyalists in foreign organizations and silencing dissidents and human rights campaigners.

“This is the continuation of the Houthis’ deliberate agenda of restricting freedoms and rights. They will keep just the offices of organizations that help them, such as the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and anything else related to aid,” he added.

Arab News asked the UN to comment on the closure of the office in Sanaa but no response has yet been received.

At the same time, the Houthis have reiterated their threats to target tankers transporting oil from Yemen if the government attempts to restart exports.

In a statement carried by the official Houthi news agency, the Houthi Supreme Economic Committee denied on Monday reaching an agreement with the Yemeni government to resume exports from oil terminals in the southern Hadramout and Shabwa provinces.

Rumors also circulated that the Yemeni government had enabled Yemenia Airways, the country’s main carrier, to boost flights from Houthi-held Sanaa in return for the militia stopping attacks on oil installations.

In late 2022, the Houthis launched drone attacks on oil terminals in Hadramout and Shabwa, effectively halting shipments and depriving the Yemeni government of a key source of income.

Rashad Al-Alimi, chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, told a gathering of local government officials in Al-Mukalla on Monday that the Yemeni government had lost 70 percent of its revenue as a result of Houthi attacks on oil facilities, hampering its ability to pay salaries or provide vital funds for services such as electricity.

He said the Houthis had stopped purchasing gas from the government-controlled Marib in order to impoverish the Yemeni government and weaken the presidential council.

Meanwhile, the US Central Command said on Monday that its troops had destroyed a drone in a Houthi-held territory. The news comes as international marine agencies have reported no Houthi strikes on ships in the last 10 days, indicating a prolonged calm in the anti-ship campaign.

Since November, the Houthis have fired hundreds of ballistic missiles, drones and drone boats at international commercial and naval ships in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab Strait, Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean in what the militia claims is an attempt to pressure Israel to end hostilities in the Gaza Strip.