“We can confirm that there has been an unauthorised entry by Ansar Allah security members into the UN compound in Sanaa, which currently accommodates 15 UN international staff members,” Jean Alam, spokesman of the UN Resident Coordinator for Yemen, told AFP.

“According to latest information, all staff in the compound are safe and accounted for and have contacted their families.”

He added that it was “an ongoing incident”, with the UN taking “all necessary measures”.

The rebels had already stormed UN offices in Sanaa on Aug 31, detaining more than 11 employees, according to the UN.

Those employees were suspected of spying for the US and Israel, a senior Houthi official told AFP at the time, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In a statement on Saturday, UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric’s spokesman said: “We will continue to call for an end to the arbitrary detention of 53 of our colleagues.”

He was responding to a televised address on Thursday by rebel leader Abdelmalek al-Houthi, during which he claimed his forces had dismantled “one of the most dangerous spy cells,” which he said was “linked to humanitarian organisations such as the World Food Program and Unicef”.

Dujarric described the accusations as “dangerous and unacceptable”.

The raid on Saturday came with dozens of UN personnel already arrested in recent months in areas controlled by the Iranian-backed group.

In mid-September, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen was officially transferred from Sanaa, the capital held by the Houthi rebels, to Aden, the interim capital of the internationally recognised government.

Since Aug 31, 2025, 21 UN personnel have been arrested, adding to the 23 current and former members of international NGOs already detained, according to the UN.

Ten years of civil war have plunged Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arabian Peninsula, into one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, according to the UN.