DUBAI: Several Yemenis working for the United Nations in the militant-held capital Sanaa have been detained on accusations of spying for Israel, a Houthi security official told AFP Friday, in the latest arrests targeting the world body’s staff.
Earlier this week, 20 UN staff including 15 foreigners were released after being held in their compound since a raid last week-end.
The militants have harassed and detained UN staff and aid workers for years, accusing them of spying, but they have accelerated arrests since the start of the Gaza war.
“Seven United Nations employees, all of them Yemenis, have been arrested from late last night until this afternoon on charges of spying for Israel,” a security source in Sanaa told AFP.
Another Houthi source confirmed UN employees had been arrested but did not specify how many.
The UN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The internationally recognized Yemeni government in Aden — which opposes the Houthis — condemned the new arrests, labelling them an escalation.
The Houthis, part of Iran’s “axis of resistance” against Israel and the United States, have frequently fired at ships in the Red Sea and at Israeli territory during the two-year Gaza war, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians.
Israel has launched numerous retaliatory strikes, including a major attack in August that killed the Houthis’ premier and nearly half of his cabinet.
Earlier this month, militant leader Abdulmalik Al-Houthi accused UN employees of having a hand in the attack without offering evidence. The UN has rejected the claim.
In mid-September, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen was transferred from Sanaa to the interim capital Aden.
Seven Yemeni UN workers detained in Sanaa: Houthi security source
https://arab.news/vs2hp
Seven Yemeni UN workers detained in Sanaa: Houthi security source
- “Seven UN employees, all of them Yemenis, have been arrested from late last night until this afternoon on charges of spying for Israel,” a source said
- The internationally recognized Yemeni government in Aden condemned the new arrests
Baghdad traders protest new customs tariffs
- The demonstrators gathered outside the General Customs Directorate on Sunday, chanting slogans against corruption and rejecting the new fees
BAGHDAD: Hundreds of traders and owners of customs clearance companies protested in central Baghdad on Sunday, demanding that Iraq’s government reverse recently imposed customs tariffs they say have sharply increased their costs and disrupted trade.
The new tariffs that took effect on Jan. 1 were imposed to reduce the country’s debt and reliance on oil revenues, as oil prices have fallen.
Iraq faces a debt of more than 90 trillion Iraqi dinars ($69 billion) — and a state budget that remains reliant on oil for about 90 percent of revenues, despite attempts to diversify.
But traders say the new tariffs — in some cases as high as 30 percent — have placed an unfair burden on them. Opponents have filed a lawsuit aiming to reduce the decision, which Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court is set to rule on Wednesday.
The demonstrators gathered outside the General Customs Directorate on Sunday, chanting slogans against corruption and rejecting the new fees.
“We used to pay about 3 million dinars per container, but now in some cases they ask for up to 14 million,” said Haider Al-Safi, a transport and customs clearance company owner.
“Even infant milk fees rose from about 495,000 dinars to nearly 3 million.”
He said that the new tariffs have caused a backlog of goods at the Umm Qasr port in southern Iraq and added that electric vehicles, previously exempt from customs duties, are now subject to a 15 percent fee.
“The main victim is the citizen with limited income, and government employee whose salary barely covers his daily living, those who have to pay rent, and have children with school expenses — they all will be affected by the market,” said Mohammed Samir, a wholesale trader from Baghdad.
Protesters also accused influential groups of facilitating the release of goods in exchange for lower unofficial payments, calling it widespread corruption.
Many traders, they said, are now considering routing their imports through the Kurdistan region, where fees are lower.
The protests coincided with a nationwide strike by shop owners, who closed markets and stores in several parts of Baghdad to oppose the tariff increase.
In major commercial districts, shops remained shut and hung up banners reading “Customs fees are killing citizens.”
