By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2025-12-12

The Houthis’ detention of United Nations staff and aid workers is worsening Yemen’s humanitarian crisis by blocking essential relief efforts and deepening civilian suffering, activists told Al-Fassel.

Anyone who supports the Houthis is complicit in worsening hunger and economic conditions, they said, because the Houthi group prioritizes its own interests over the lives of the Yemeni people.

The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms reported on December 6, that the Houthi-controlled criminal court had begun the trial of 12 detainees on charges described as "communicating with the enemy."

Among those detained are three former employees of the US Embassy in Yemen and six staff members from UN agencies and organizations, all held for years without legal justification or access to basic rights.

On October 31, the Iran-backed Houthi government’s acting foreign minister, Abdul Wahed Abu Ras, announced that 43 detained UN staff would be tried for alleged involvement in the August 28 Israeli airstrike that killed several senior Houthi leaders.

Disruption of aid routes

"The detention and trial of UN and humanitarian workers by unauthorized Houthi bodies is a clear violation of international humanitarian law and conventions protecting aid worker immunity and freedom of movement," Muhammed al-Omda, head of the Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms told Al-Fassel.

"These actions have not only harmed Yemen’s reputation and international obligations but, more critically, have disrupted aid routes and prevented life-saving aid from reaching millions of the most vulnerable, thereby exacerbating the risk of famine," he said.

The storming of UN relief headquarters, detention of staff, and exploitation of aid constitute behavior that undermines international trust and ultimately threatens the collapse of the humanitarian operation in Yemen, Al-Omda said.

Fueling the crisis

"The Houthis' detention of aid workers impedes the delivery of humanitarian aid, exacerbating the living conditions and accelerating the collapse of food security in a large number of provinces," economist Abdul Aziz Thabet said.

He said that those who support the Houthis' arbitrary actions against international workers and organizations are "contributing to the increase in human suffering and the spread of poverty and hunger."

"Support that prioritizes Houthi interests and Iran's agenda over the Yemeni people helps to deepen the war economy and exacerbate the humanitarian crisis," he said.

Al-Omda also warned that enabling the group's continued violations results in complicity in deepening the famine and endangering civilians.

"This is what everyone who supports this group or covers up its crimes must understand," al-Omda said.