US condemns Houthi attack on UN office in Sana'a

The U.S. government has condemned the attack perpetrated by Houthi terrorists in Yemen against the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sana'a, noting that it "violates international norms" and "demonstrates that the Houthis have no respect for the most basic international practices."

The State Department statement contends that "this is just one more step in an aggressive series of Houthi actions including detentions of U.N., international organization, and diplomatic personnel working to help the Yemeni people. These actions will further obstruct the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Yemenis who have endured crisis conditions for far too long."

Spokesman Vedant Patel has stressed that Washington "continues to support a negotiated peace in Yemen under U.N. auspices" but warned that "there can be no sustainable solution to Yemen’s conflict as long as the Houthis insist on attacking international ships and threatening their neighbors and the Yemeni people."

According to Argentine outlet Infobae, the Houthis burst into the office and seized official documentation as well as staff belongings, furniture and vehicles. The raid comes as the Iranian-backed terrorist group has been attacking the Red Sea corridor with missiles and drones.

In June, according to Fox News, the Houthis detained more than 60 people working with the U.N. and several NGOs, according to the U.N. Human Rights Office. Among the detainees were six Human Rights Office workers, who joined two of their colleagues detained by the Houthis in November 2021 and August 2023. The terrorists said it was a "U.S.-Israeli espionage network."

The Houthis have been engaged in a civil war since 2014, when they seized control of Sana'a and most of the north, killing hundreds of thousands of Yemenis creating one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters.