The UN says Yemen’s Houthis removed its assets, equipment in latest restrictions

CAIRO (AP) — Houthi rebels in Yemen removed U.N. equipment and assets and took them to an undisclosed location without explanation, the world body said Friday, the latest in a series of restrictions by the Iran-backed group.

Julien Harneis, the United Nations’ resident and humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, said the Houthis entered at least six unstaffed U.N. offices in Sanaa on Thursday and removed most of the telecommunications equipment and several U.N. vehicles without U.N. authorization.

The move will likely further hinder urgently needed humanitarian assistance in Houthi-controlled areas and marks the latest escalation in the Houthis’ crackdown on U.N. staff and aid groups.

Yemen has been engulfed in civil war for more than a decade, with Iran-backed Houthi rebels controlling much of the north and a Saudi-led coalition supporting the internationally recognized government in the south.

The equipment removed Thursday was essential to carrying out U.N. programs and had been brought into Yemen in compliance with local protocols and with the necessary permissions, the U.N. said.

The Houthis, without explanation, have also not authorized United Nations Humanitarian Air Service flights to Sanaa for more than a month, or to the internationally recognized government-controlled Mareb province for over four months, the U.N. said Friday.

The flights are the only means for international nonprofits to enter and leave Houthi-controlled areas to operate and deliver aid.

The Houthi decisions were made without discussion or an opportunity to reach a mutual agreement to set arrangements for aid delivery, Harneis said.

“This confiscation of UN assets and the blocking of UNHAS flights by the Sana’a DFA (Houthis), comes at a time when humanitarian needs in Yemen, particularly in areas under their control, are increasing. This will make the humanitarian situation worse in those parts of Yemen controlled by the DFA,” the Friday statement read.

U.N. officials said Thursday that the World Food Program will shut down operation in Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen due to Houthi restrictions and 365 staffers will lose their jobs by the end of March.

Aid operations in northern Yemen have long been hindered by Houthi-imposed constraints. Seventy-three U.N. staffers have been detained in recent years as well as staffers from other nonprofits and civil society groups in areas controlled by the rebels. The detentions have severely restricted aid delivery in areas that account for around 70% of humanitarian needs nationwide, the U.N. said.

They intensified their crackdown by storming into U.N. facilities in Sanaa and elsewhere accusing staffers, without evidence, of espionage, allegations the U.N. rejected.