Houthi militia detains Yemen worker at US Embassy

The US has announced on Friday that a Houthi militia has detained a Yemeni worker at its embassy in Sanaa, Jordanian newspaper Assabeel reported.

“We are heartened to see that the story of the illegal and baseless detention of our Yemeni staff is once again receiving media attention,” a statement issued by the US Embassy in Yemen conveyed.

It added: “We are saddened to confirm that the Houthis have detained another member of our staff.”

The statement continued: “The outpouring of support for our colleagues is a testament to many strong relationships they have developed in the course of their work for the embassy for many years to advance the US-Yemen partnership.”

Calling on the media’s help, the statement requested: “We hope you will help us keep our detainees in the public eye.”

Read: 5 UN staff abducted in southern Yemen

“We also hope our partners in the media will make clear that it is the Houthis who are responsible for the detention of these innocent Yemenis, whom they are using as pawns on this conflict.”

The statement did not mention the name of the employee or where he is detained, but the media reported his name as Abdul Rahman Saf Al-Sharaabi.

Media reports revealed that the Houthis had detained at least ten staff members of the US Embassy in Yemen.

It is worth noting that most diplomatic missions left Sanaa in 2015 when the Houthis imposed control over the capital, along with other Yemeni cities.

Read: Yemen calls for international action on its humanitarian crisis