The United Nations has paused all operations and programmes in Yemen’s Saada region, north of Yemen's capitol Sana'a after more UN staff were detained by the Houthi authorities, deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Monday.
“This extraordinary and temporary measure seeks to balance the imperative to stay and deliver with the need to have the safety and security of the UN personnel and its partners guaranteed,” Haq said adding “Such guarantees are ultimately required to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of our efforts.”
He said that this pause is to give time to the Houthi rebels and the United Nations to arrange the release of arbitrarily detained UN personnel and ensure that the necessary conditions are in place to deliver critical humanitarian support.,”.
The Iran-aligned Houthis have detained at least 24 UN staff including six working in Sa’ada governorate.