Yemen’s Houthi-controlled Foreign Ministry has said that United Nations officials cannot use diplomatic immunities as cover for espionage, days after at least 11 UN staff were detained in Sanaa. According to the UN, Houthi forces raided its offices in the capital on Sunday, arresting employees shortly after an Israeli strike killed the Houthi-run government’s prime minister and several ministers.
In a statement carried by the Houthi news agency Saba on Wednesday, the ministry accused the UN of bias, saying it condemned “legal measures taken by the government against spy cells involved in crimes,” while failing to denounce the Israeli attack.
Yemen has been divided since 2014, when the Iran-aligned Houthis seized Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognized, Saudi-backed government to relocate to Aden.
The ministry said it respects the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, but stressed that such protections “do not extend to espionage activities or those who carry them out.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the incident, reporting that Houthi forces stormed World Food Programme offices, seized UN property, and attempted to enter other agency premises in Sanaa.
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