Houthi rebels supported by Iran stormed the offices of two United Nations Agencies in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Sunday, one day after Israel said that it had killed the prime minister of the government controlled by rebels.
The offices The World Food Program (WFP) and the Children's Agency (UNICEF) of the United Nations were 'introduced by local security forces on Sunday morning', spokespersons of the CNN agencies told in separate statements.
A WFP employee was held, just like a number of UNICEF employees, according to the statements.
Hans Grundberg, the special envoy of the United Nations for Yemen, later confirmed that at least 11 UN staff were held, adding that he “strongly” condemns the arrests, as well as the forced access to UN buildings.
The WFP and UNICEF are “urgently looking for additional information” from the local authorities, told their spokespersons to CNN, and added: “Our immediate priority is the safety and well -being of our staff.”
It is unclear whether the raids were related to the attacks of Israel. The Houthis have previously focused on the UN and other international organizations.
The minister of information at the government supported by the UN, Moammar al-Beeryi, condemned the actions of the Houthis Sterk, reported the Yemeni news agency Saba News.
In the meantime, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised that the strikes that Ahmed Al-Rhawi, the Prime Minister of Jemen's Houthi rebels, are 'only the beginning' of his country's campaign against the group.
Al-Rahawi was killed on Thursday together with other Houthi officials in a strike on Sanaa, confirmed the head of the Supreme Political Council of the Houthis and revenge revenge for the attack.
The rebel group regularly launches rockets in Israel, as well as attacks on ships in the Red Sea, in what it says there is revenge for the offensive of Israel in Gaza.
Netanyahu has promised that the Houthis “will pay a very tough price for their aggression against the state of Israel.”
“We do what nobody has done for us, and this is just the start of the strikes of senior officials in Sanaa – we will reach them all,” the Israeli leader told a government meeting on Sunday.
Since 2014, Yemen has been divided over a Houthi government that controls Sanaa and a large part of the north, and a rival but more generally recognized administration in the south.
CNN's Eugenia Yosef and Max Saltman contributed to this report.
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