UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "strongly" condemned the Houthis' detention of seven UN staffers in Yemen on Friday.
"I demand the immediate and unconditional release of those detained on Thursday, as well as the personnel from the United Nations, international and national non-governmental organizations, civil society and diplomatic missions arbitrarily detained since June 2024 and those held since 2021 and 2023.
"Their continued arbitrary detention is unacceptable," Guterres said in a statement.
Yemen remains mired in one of the world's worst humanitarian and economic crises, fueled by nearly a decade of war between government forces and the Houthis.
