Houthis Take Over U.N. Office, Keep Staff Hostage in YemenFrances Martel 13 Aug 2024
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) condemned the Houthi terrorist organization of Yemen on Tuesday for raiding its office in the national capital, Sana’a, stealing critical documents, and taking employees hostage.
High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk demanded the freedom of his employees and uninterrupted access to Yemeni civilians in a statement on Tuesday revealing a previously unreported Houthi raid on U.N. officials on August 3. The Houthis, whose Iran-backed terrorist organization is formally known as “Ansarallah,” have for years brutalized human rights workers within their reach. More recently, in June, the Houthis launched an abduction spree in which they raided the homes of U.N. and non-governmental organization workers and took them hostage, severely disrupting humanitarian efforts.
The OHCHR affirmed that the United Nations had been one of several targets of the June raids, in which the Houthis abducted 13 U.N. staffers, six of them affiliated with the Human Rights Office.
“They are all being held incommunicado.”
On August 3, Houthi leaders reportedly expanded the repression by raiding the OHCHR office in Sana’a and stealing critical information. That office had stopped operating after the raids in June.
“Ansar Allah de facto authorities sent a ‘delegation’ to the premises of the UN Human Rights Office in Sana’a that forced national staff to hand over belongings, including documents, furniture and vehicles, in addition to the office’s keys. They are still in control of the premises,” the U.N. body confirmed on Tuesday.
Turk, the high commissioner, issued an outraged statement demanding the return of the office’s belongings and freedom for its workers.
“Entering a UN office without permission and seizing documents and property by force are wholly inconsistent with the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations,” Turk said. “This is also a serious attack on the ability of the UN to perform its mandate … Ansar Allah forces must leave the premises and return all assets and belongings immediately.”
The Houthis are a Shiite terror organization that heavily relies on funding and other support from Iran, the world’s premier state sponsor of terrorism, to operate. The Houthis seized control of Sana’a from the legitimate government of Yemen in 2014 as part of an attempted takeover of the country, which resulted in a civil war that continues to this day. The legitimate government of Yemen, supported by neighboring Saudi Arabia, currently operates out of the southern port city of Aden.
The Houthis became significantly more important as an Iranian ally after October 7, when another Iranian proxy terrorist organization, Hamas, invaded Israel and engaged in a terror spree featuring door-to-door raids in residential neighborhoods, the killing of an estimated 1,200 people, and widespread evidence of gang rape, torture, infanticide, and other atrocities. Hamas terrorists also abducted dozens of Israelis, over 100 of whom are still believed to be in Hamas custody in its stronghold of Gaza.
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https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2024/08/13/houthis-take-over-u-n-office-keep-staff-hostage-yemen/
