UN suspends movement in Houthi-held areas after staff detained

Talks with senior Houthi officials are underway to try and get the workers released.

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The UN said that it was actively engaging with senior Houthi officials to try to secure the release of all its detained employees. There has been no official statement from the Houthis as yet.

This is not the first time that the group has detained UN workers - a number of staff members were held last year. The Houthis have also detained some 20 Yemeni employees of the US embassy for the past three years.

Human rights groups also accuse the movement of having kidnapped, tortured and held in arbitrary detention hundreds of civilians.

The Iranian-backed Houthis have been fighting a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen for almost a decade. The conflict, which erupted after the Houthis forced out the then Yemeni government, has largely been at a standstill for the past two years.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqx92yzew88o

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