Two United Nations staff members were detained by Yemen's "Ansar Allah" (Houthi) armed group on the 23rd, bringing the total number of UN personnel being held to 55.
According to Xinhua News Agency, UN Secretary-General's Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq said on the 24th that since 2021, a series of actions by the "Ansar Allah" armed group have made it increasingly difficult for the United Nations to provide aid to the people of Yemen, including forcibly entering and occupying UN staff residences, detaining UN assets and personnel, and so on.
Haq stated that these actions by the "Ansar Allah" armed group have forced the United Nations to reconsider how it operates in areas under their control. The UN has appointed an official responsible for seeking the release of detained UN personnel and for preventing similar incidents from happening again.
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the "Ansar Allah" armed group, claimed in a televised speech on the 16th that there was a "dangerous espionage ring" within humanitarian organizations operating in Yemen, which assisted Israel in the late August airstrike on Sanaa that resulted in the deaths of several leaders. The United Nations has denied that its personnel were involved in any such espionage activities.