The day the UN became the uncomfortable guest in Sana’a
It seems that the Houthis, those Iranian-sponsored rebels that we all have in the geopolitical WhatsApp group, decided that Sunday was a perfect day to redecorate. Your project? Raid the UN offices in the Yemeni capital. Nothing like starting the week by seizing United Nations property and arresting at least eleven of its employees. A mood, definitely.
According to Abeer Etefa, spokesperson for the World Food Program (WFP), security forces made their triumphant entry into the agencies’ headquarters in Sana’a during the morning. But they didn’t just stay in the kitchen (pun intended, being the WFP). They also stopped by the offices of the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, because what’s a raid without a little variety? An anonymous official said that the employees were interrogated in the parking lot, which gives a low-budget spy movie feel to the whole situation.
Ammar Ammar, from UNICEF, confirmed the tremendous drama: several of his colleagues were detained and were in detective mode, looking for more information about the Houthis. Basically, any Monday at the office, but with more geopolitical tension than usual.
The UN response: Condemnations and a “Really, again?”
António Guterres, the UN secretary general, released a statement on Sunday night that basically said: “Free my people now.” He condemned the arrests and the “forced entry” into the facilities, which sounds much more elegant than “ill-intentioned raid.” He demanded the immediate and unconditional release not only of the personnel detained that day, but also of those who had already been in the freezer before. Because of course, this is not something isolated; It is the latest chapter in a prolonged repression against the UN and other international organizations in the area.
The thing goes back a long way: the Houthis have been detaining UN employees left and right, people from aid groups, civil society and even those who were associated with the now closed US embassy in Sana’a for months. Such is the level that the UN suspended its operations in the Houthi stronghold of Saada after eight employees were detained in January. In other words, the UN-Houthi relationship is more broken than my iPhone screen after a night of partying.
The context: Revenge, missiles and a massive funeral
And why this sudden outburst? Well, it turns out that all this comes after Israel bombed the Houthi Prime Minister and several of his ministers last Thursday. An attack that was quite a blow to the rebels, who had dedicated themselves to launching attacks against Israel and ships in the Red Sea in the midst of the conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
Among the dead were Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi, Foreign Minister Gamal Amer, and a handful of other senior officials. They basically wiped out half the government in what the Houthis described as a “routine workshop” to evaluate its performance. And of course, if a missile hits you during your performance evaluation, bad business. The Houthis have announced a mass funeral for this Monday in Sabeen Square, in the center of Sana’a. It’s going to be a trending topic, without a doubt.
The UN envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, expressed his “great concern” about all this escalation and released the phrase of the year: “Yemen cannot allow itself to become a battlefield for a broader geopolitical conflict“. Spoiler: It already is. He also asked for de-escalation, which is like asking your ex to be reasonable: nice in theory, unlikely in practice.
The Houthis, for their part, do not want to slow down. Its leader, al-Houthi, made it very clear in a televised speech on Sunday: his military strategy of attacking the “Israeli enemy” with missiles, drones or naval blockades is “continuous, stable and increasing.” Come on, they promise more drama in the Red Sea and beyond. Because in the Yemeni game of thrones, you either get on the revenge train or you stay on the platform.
The humanitarian situation in Yemen, already critical, is further complicated by these actions that hinder the work of aid agencies. It is a perfect storm of geopolitics, revenge and a civilian population caught in the middle that just wants to live in peace. A nonsense with capital letters.
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