Sanaa [Yemen], September 1: Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militia on Sunday stormed the offices of two United Nations aid agencies in the capital Sana'a and arrested some workers, according to a Yemeni source.
Gunmen linked to the Houthis entered the offices of the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)in the rebel-controlled city, a source close to the agencies' employees told DPA on condition of anonymity.
The gunmen arrested around seven WFP workers and three working for UNICEF, and took them to an unknown location, according to the source.
The motive for the abductions is not yet clear. There was no immediate comment available from the Houthis or the UN. The campaign has expanded in other areas under the militia's control in war-torn Yemen, including the Houthi stronghold of Saada in the far north, local workers said.
The Houthis have previously abducted UN workers, accusing them of spying for the United States.
Twenty-three aid workers were still in detention as of March, according to UN information. Some of them have been held for more than three years.
It comes a day after the militia announced that its prime minister and several ministers had been killed in an Israeli airstrike in Sana'a on Thursday.
The Houthi government is not internationally recognised.
It was the first time that the Houthi announced deaths of senior officials since Israel started retaliatory strikes against the group.
Since the eruption of the Gaza war in October 2023, the Houthis have regularly attacked Israel with missiles and drones in support of the Palestinian Hamas movement.
Israel has repeatedly targeted sites in Houthi-ruled areas in Yemen in response.
Later Sunday, the militia's chief Abdel-Malek al-Houthi said the latest assassinations would not prompt the Houthis to back down and vowed they would continue their attacks on Israel.
"Our military approach to targeting the Israeli enemy, whether with missiles, drones, or the naval blockade, is ongoing, steady, and escalating," he said in a televised address aired on the group's al-Masirah TV.
He also stressed the role of security agencies in the Houthi-ruled areas against "infiltration" and targeting the group's officials.
"The coming days will witness additional successes of great importance in aborting the Israeli enemy's attempts to carry out crimes against our dear people, whether against their official institutions or the public community," al-Houthi said without elaborating.
Source: Qatar Tribune
