Iran-backed Houthis raid UN meals and kids’s companies in Yemen : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5317x3913+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F80%2F2d%2F9dff14024f8dbd66b500094e5683%2Fap25242575243359.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5317x3913+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F80%2F2d%2F9dff14024f8dbd66b500094e5683%2Fap25242575243359.jpg" class="img" alt="A man watches the news on TV, displaying footage of Ahmed al-Rahawi, the prime minister of the Houthi-controlled government, who was killed, along with others, in Thursday's Israeli strikes on the capital, in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025." fetchpriority="high"/> A person watches the information on TV, displaying footage of Ahmed al-Rahawi, the prime minister of the Houthi-controlled authorities, who was killed, together with others, in Thursday's Israeli strikes on the capital, in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. Osamah Abdulrahman/AP/AP cover caption

toggle caption

Osamah Abdulrahman/AP/AP CAIRO — The Iran-backed Houthis on Sunday raided workplaces of the United Nations' meals and kids's companies in Yemen's capital, detaining not less than one U.N. worker, officers stated, because the rebels tighten safety throughout Sanaa following the Israeli killing of their prime minister and several other Cupboard members.

Abeer Etefa, a spokesperson for the World Meals Program, advised The Related Press that safety forces raided the companies' workplaces within the Houthi-controlled capital Sunday morning.

"WFP reiterates that the arbitrary detention of humanitarian employees is unacceptable," Etefa stated.

Additionally raided have been UNICEF workplaces, in keeping with a U.N. official and a Houthi official, who spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren't approved to transient the media.

Ammar Ammar, a spokesperson for UNICEF, stated there was "an ongoing scenario" associated to their workplaces in Sanaa, with out offering additional particulars.

The U.N. official stated contacts with a number of different WFP and UNICEF staffers have been misplaced and that they have been possible additionally detained.

The raids have been the most recent in a long-running Houthi crackdown towards the United Nations and different worldwide organizations working in rebel-held areas in Yemen.

They've detained dozens of U.N. staffers, in addition to folks related to support teams, civil society and the now-closed U.S. Embassy in Sanaa. The U.N. suspended its operations within the Houthi stronghold of Saada in northern Yemen after the rebels detained eight U.N. staffers in January.

A minimum of 5 ministers confirmed killed within the Israeli strike Sunday's raids got here on the heels of the killing of the Houthi prime minister and several other of his Cupboard in an Israeli strike on Thursday, in a blow to the Iran-backed rebels who've launched assaults on Israel and ships within the Pink Sea in relation to the Israel-Hamas warfare within the Gaza Strip.

Among the many lifeless have been Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi, Overseas Minister Gamal Amer, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Native Growth Mohammed al-Medani, Electrical energy Minister Ali Seif Hassan, Tourism Minister Ali al-Yafei, Data Minister Hashim Sharafuldin, in keeping with two Houthi officers and the victims' households.

Additionally killed was a strong deputy inside minister, Abdel-Majed al-Murtada, the Houthi officers stated.

They have been focused throughout a "routine workshop held by the federal government to guage its actions and efficiency over the previous yr," a Houthi assertion stated on Saturday, two days after the strike. The Houthis stated a funeral for all these killed is scheduled for Monday in Sabeen Sq. in central Sanaa.

Protection Minister Mohamed Nasser al-Attefi survived the assault whereas Abdel-Karim al-Houthi, the inside minister and one of the vital highly effective figures within the insurgent group, did not attend the Thursday assembly, the Houthi officers stated.

Thursday's strike got here after the Houthis attacked Israel on Aug. 21 with a ballistic missile that its army described as the primary cluster bomb the rebels had launched at Israel since 2023. The missile, which the Houthis stated was aimed toward Ben Gurion Airport, prompted air raid sirens throughout central Israel and Jerusalem, forcing hundreds of thousands into shelters.

The Houthis are prone to escalate their assaults on Israel and ships within the Pink Sea, after they vowed in July to focus on service provider ships belonging to any firm that does enterprise with Israeli ports, no matter nationality.

"Our army method of concentrating on the Israeli enemy, whether or not with missiles, drones or a naval blockade, is steady, regular, and escalating," al-Houthi, the group's secretive chief, stated in a televised speech Sunday.