The United Nations has said it has suspended its humanitarian operations in Saada, Yemen, after the detention of eight more UN staffers by the Houthi rebels. In a statement yesterday, the UN said the extraordinary decision to pause all operations and programmes was taken due to lack of necessary security conditions.

The pause in operations is meant to give the Houthis and the world body time to arrange the release of arbitrarily detained UN personnel. It said the latest detained UN staffers included six working in Saada, on Yemen’s northern border with Saudi Arabia, impacting the UN’s ability to operate.