UN spokesperson reveals new arrests of UN staff in Sanaa
Yemen
Yamanat
On Thursday, December 18, 2025, a UN spokesperson announced that the de facto authorities in Sanaa had arrested ten UN employees, bringing the total number of UN employees detained in Sanaa to 69 employees.
Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, said in a statement to China’s Xinhua news agency: “Today we confirm the arbitrary detention of ten UN employees by the de facto Houthi authorities in Sanaa. »
Earlier on Thursday, a Yemeni source working for the United Nations in Sanaa told Xinhua news agency, who preferred to remain anonymous, that the Houthi group had arrested four Yemeni employees working at the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The source said at the time that Houthi security personnel arrested the employees after storming their homes in Sanaa, and that there was no immediate comment from the Houthis.
The arrests come a day after UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the continued arbitrary detention of UN employees by the Houthis in Yemen.
On Wednesday, Guterres told reporters after the Security Council meeting on the situation in Yemen, during private consultations: “I strongly condemn the continued arbitrary detention of 59 United Nations colleagues and partners, as well as members of non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and diplomatic missions,” adding: “I call for their immediate and unconditional release, in accordance with international law.”
He said that in recent days, de facto Houthi authorities had referred three United Nations employees to a special criminal court, saying: “This referral must be reversed.”
The Secretary-General said that “the continued detention constitutes a profound injustice to those who have dedicated their lives to helping the people of Yemen.”
Yemen