Houthi raids UN office in Yemen, arrests 20 people

Sanaa [Yemen], October 20: The United Nations office in Yemen on October 19 accused Houthi forces of still holding 20 staff members after a raid on the organization's building in the capital Sanaa on October 18.
"Five national staff and 15 international staff are still being held inside the headquarters," Jean Alam, a spokesman for the Office of the UN Coordinator in Yemen, confirmed on October 19.
" The United Nations has been in contact with the Sanaa authorities, relevant Member States and the Government of Yemen to resolve this serious situation as quickly as possible, end the detention of all staff and restore full control of its facilities in Sanaa," Mr. Alam said.
A UN official, who asked not to be named, told AFP late on October 19 that the representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Yemen , Peter Hawkins, was among those detained. AFP cited two Houthi security sources who also confirmed the news.
The October 18 raid came as dozens of UN staff have been captured in recent months in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, according to AFP
According to the United Nations, the Houthis attacked the organization's offices in Sanaa on August 31, capturing more than 11 staff. At the time, a senior Houthi member told AFP that the arrested staff were suspected of spying for the United States and Israel .
In a statement on October 18, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, stressed: "We will continue to call for an end to the arbitrary detention of our 53 colleagues."
In a televised speech on October 16, Houthi leader Abdelmalek al-Huthi announced that the Houthis had dismantled "one of the most dangerous spy groups" which he said "had links to humanitarian organizations such as the World Food Program and UNICEF". Mr Dujarric described the allegations as "dangerous and unacceptable".
There is currently no information about Houthi's reaction to the new accusations and statements from the United Nations.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper