Ansarallah Detain 3 UN Staff as Spies for Israel and the US
Yemeni security authorities say the arrests are part of an operation targeting espionage networks infiltrating humanitarian organizations
Yemen, PUREWILAYAH.COM — A security source from Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement told AFP on Sunday that the group had arrested three local United Nations staff members for spying for “Israel.”
The source said that two women working for the World Food Programme (WFP) were taken from their homes on Saturday in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, while a Yemeni man, also employed by the WFP, was arrested later that night.
The source added that “security and intelligence services in Sanaa still have a list of people wanted for collaborating with the Israeli and American enemy.”
These arrests are part of a wider operation targeting UN and NGO employees accused of espionage and collaboration, following the detention of seven other local UN staff members earlier this week on similar charges of working with “Israel.”
Sayyed al-Houthi: Humanitarian Organizations Used as Espionage Cover
In a speech on October 16, the leader of Ansar Allah, Sayyed Abdulmalik al-Houthi, revealed that several of the individuals arrested were part of a criminal espionage apparatus operating under the guise of humanitarian work.
Sayyed al-Houthi said that enemy spy cells targeting Yemen had received extensive training and were equipped with advanced and dangerous technologies.
He stated that among the most dangerous of these active cells were individuals affiliated with organizations in the humanitarian field, most notably the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF.
According to the Yemeni leader, these spy networks played a key role in facilitating Israeli targeting operations, including the recent attack on a Yemeni government meeting, by providing surveillance and transmitting information to the Israeli enemy.
Sayyed al-Houthi further disclosed that a cell specifically linked to the WFP, led by the organization’s chief of security and safety in Yemen, was involved in the operation that enabled the targeting of the government.
Americans and Israelis Shielding Spy Networks
Sayyed al-Houthi affirmed that the Americans and Israelis had used humanitarian organizations as a cover to protect their agents and to facilitate their movement using resources and equipment provided under the pretext of aid work.
“The Americans and Israelis have used humanitarian organizations as a cover to protect these cells from arrest and to facilitate their movements with the resources and equipment provided to them,” Sayyed al-Houthi said.
Ansar Allah’s leadership has repeatedly accused foreign intelligence agencies of exploiting international aid operations to conduct espionage, monitor Yemeni institutions, and support hostile military operations.
According to the Yemeni authorities, the latest arrests mark a continuation of counterintelligence efforts aimed at uncovering and dismantling these networks, which they describe as part of a broader U.S.-Israeli strategy against Yemen. (PW)