A member of the Houthi rebels’s authority said that 43 UN staff, most of them Yemenis, would be placed on trial accused of spying and espionage.
He claimed that the rebel’s judiciary and security agencies co-ordinated on the steps being taken suggesting that as long as the prosecution is informed, “it is certain that this process is moving towards its conclusion, leading to trials”.
The United Nations has repeatedly rejected accusations that its staff were involved in spying and espionage and renewed its call for the release of staff members detained by the Houthi rebels.
“We call for the immediate release of all of our UN colleagues who have been detained arbitrarily, as well as those from NGOs and international diplomatic missions,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.
The Houthis detained the UN staff members earlier this month and raided their homes, putting pressure on the global body's agencies as they seek to continue operations in Yemen, where 70 per cent of people are reliant on aid after more than 12 years of war between the rebels and the internationally recognized government.
There are at least 55 staffers in the Houthi custody, most of them Yemeni nationals after a dozen international staff members were released last week.