SAA event in Yemen on Thu 9th January 2025

Sana'a: Houthi kidnapping campaign targets former employees of diplomatic missions coinciding with the visit of the UN envoy Over the past few days, the Houthi militia has carried out a wide-scale arrest campaign in Sana'a, targeting former Yemeni employees who worked in foreign and Arab emba ssies, coinciding with the visit of the UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg. Xinhua correspondent in Yemen, Faris Al-Humairi, said that the campaign, which began last Sunday, has continued over the past few days, targeting dozens of former employees who worked in security and diplomatic guarding in a number of embassies, including American, British and Saudi embassies. He added that the arrests were carried out in a brutal manner, as the houses were raided simultaneously by masked gunmen in armored vehicles and security vehicles, in addition to a bus carrying female police (Zainabiyat), which sparked a state of terror among the residents and neighbors of the targeted individuals. He continued, "All detainees were taken to unknown locations. Their families do not know where they are being held and they were not allowed to communicate with their relatives." He pointed out that "the belongings and property of those who were arrested were confiscated from their homes during the raids." Al-Hamri mentioned the names of some of the abductees, namely: Riyadh Al-Saeedi, a former employee at the US embassy, ​​who was arrested from his father's home in the Attan neighborhood; Mohammed Al-Shalali, a former employee at the US embassy, ​​who was arrested from his home on Hael Street; and (Y.A.), a former employee at the British embassy, ​​who was arrested in the Hadda neighborhood. He pointed out that he withheld the names of a number of detainees "at the request of some families." These kidnappings continued in conjunction with the visit of the UN envoy to Sana'a, who also visited the home of the employee in the envoy's office who was abducted by the militia, Sami Al-Kulaibi, and expressed his solidarity with the families of the detainees, pointing to the suffering they are experiencing and the urgent need to release their loved ones. He added that protecting humanitarian workers and civil society is vital to achieving peace.