Yemen's foreign minister warns of Houthi cross-border threat
Afrah al-Zouba accused the Houthis of mistreating UN staff and refusing to return a dead employee's body to his family.
Yemen's Foreign Minister Afrah al-Zouba warned on Thursday that the Iran-backed Houthis are running a cross-border campaign that threatens maritime security and deepens hardship for Yemeni civilians, the news agency of Yemen's internationally recognised government Saba (Government) reported.
She made the remarks at a roundtable in Berlin organized by the International Peace Operations Center at Germany's Foreign Ministry, which drew diplomats, parliamentarians and experts on Yemen and the wider Middle East.
Al-Zouba said the Houthis have escalated for more than a month, worsening conditions in several governorates and in the city of Taiz, which remains under siege.
She said the group is using the blockade as collective punishment against civilians.
She also accused the Houthis of abducting and mistreating UN employees and humanitarian workers while holding them in detention.
Al-Zouba cited the death of UN employee Mohammed al-Shami after more than two years in Houthi captivity.
The Houthis refused to hand his body to his family or allow a medical examination to establish the cause of death, she said.
The Houthis control the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, and have been fighting the internationally recognised government since 2014.
Their attacks on Red Sea shipping since late 2023 have drawn wider international concern about maritime security.
