Iran-backed Houthi rebels stormed the headquarters of a United Nations agency in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Sunday, a day after Israel said it killed the prime minister of the rebel-controlled government.
The offices of the World Food Programme (WFP) were “entered by local security forces” on Sunday morning, a spokesperson for the agency told CNN. A WFP staff member was detained, they continued, adding that there were reports of detentions elsewhere too.
It is unclear whether the raid was related to Israel’s attacks. The Houthis have previously targeted the UN and other international organizations.
The information minister with the UN-backed government, Moammar al-Eryani, strongly condemned the Houthis’ actions, Yemeni state news agency SABA NEWS reported. Al-Eryani said reports indicated that the Houthis also abducted the guards of a UNICEF premises, according to SABA NEWS.
A spokesperson for UNICEF told CNN that there was an “ongoing situation in Sanaa,” but was unable to provide further details.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that the strikes that killed Ahmed al-Rahawi, the prime minister of Yemen’s Houthi rebels, are “only the beginning” of his country’s campaign against the group.
Credit: cnn.com
