United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres on Tuesday demanded Yemen鈥檚 Huthi rebels release dozens of aid workers, including UN staff, a year after their arrest.
The Iran-backed rebels, who control much of the war-torn country, detained 13 UN personnel and more than 50 employees of aid groups last June.
鈥業 renew my call for their immediate and unconditional release,鈥� Guterres said in a statement issued by the office of his special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg.
鈥楾he UN and its humanitarian partners should never be targeted, arrested or detained while carrying out their mandates for the benefit of the people they serve,鈥� he added.
A decade of civil war has plunged Yemen into one of the world鈥檚 worst humanitarian crises, with more than half of the population relying on aid.
The arrests prompted the United Nations to limit its deployments and suspend activities in some regions of the Arabian Peninsula鈥檚 poorest country.
The Huthis at the time claimed an 鈥楢merican-Israeli spy cell鈥� was operating under the cover of aid groups 鈥� an accusation firmly rejected by the UN.
Guterres also lamented the 鈥榙eplorable tragedy鈥� of the death in detention of a World Food Programme staffer in February.
The Huthis have kidnapped, arbitrarily detained and tortured hundreds of civilians, including aid workers, during their war against a Saudi-led coalition supporting the beleaguered internationally recognised government.
