It was already an awful enough season for humanitarian aid workers, who have faced death and abuse from Gaza to Sudan. During the past two weeks, Yemen’s Houthi rebels added another sorry chapter, detaining a group of 13 Yemeni United Nations aid workers whom they accused of acting as part of a U.S.-Israeli spy ring.
The detentions are part of a broader reported sweep of a total of some 50 Yemeni employees of U.N. agencies, diplomatic missions, private companies, and international and nongovernmental organizations, according to the United States Mission to the United Nations. It follows the detention of four U.N. staff members in 2021 and 2023 who remain in custody.
U.N. officials worry the dragnet is part of an intimidation campaign directed at the thousands of local workers who provide services to international organizations, fueling widespread panic and fear. It is also viewed as a bid to impose greater control over the aid communities’ distribution of billions of dollars in foreign assistance to Yemen, the lowest-income country in the Middle East.
About the author
Colum Lynch
Colum Lynch is an award-winning reporter and Senior Global Reporter for Devex. He covers the intersection of development, diplomacy, and humanitarian relief at the United Nations and beyond. Prior to Devex, Colum reported on foreign policy and national security for Foreign Policy Magazine and the Washington Post. Colum was awarded the 2011 National Magazine Award for digital reporting for his blog Turtle Bay. He has also won an award for groundbreaking reporting on the U.N.’s failure to protect civilians in Darfur.
