Overview
- On October 20, the UN said five Yemeni staff were released and 15 foreign personnel are free to move within the Sanaa compound after Houthi security forces left the site.
- The detentions followed back-to-back incursions on October 18–19, when roughly two dozen UN employees were held at a facility in the Hada district and 11 others were released after questioning.
- A UN official said Houthi forces confiscated all communications equipment at the facility, including phones, servers and computers.
- Those affected include staff from the World Food Programme, UNICEF and OCHA, with UNICEF’s Yemen representative Peter Hawkins among those previously held inside the compound.
- UN leaders reject Houthi allegations of espionage as dangerous, as the organization pursues diplomatic contacts while operations remain constrained and dozens of UN and aid workers have been detained in recent months.