At first glance, the repeated detention in Yemen of UN and NGO workers by the country’s Houthi rebels suggests a militant group lashing out after suffering a string of recent setbacks.
The National reported on Wednesday that armed men raided offices belonging to the Red Cross in Sanaa this week for the first time, questioning dozens of people. Given that the Red Cross mediated for the release of UN and civil society figures during previous rounds of Houthi harassment, this is an alarming escalation. The decision to target aid workers raises larger questions about the militants' strategy.
The Houthis have lost several senior political and military figures to Israeli air strikes, and the Gaza ceasefire has undermined the group’s excuse for its Red Sea shipping attacks. When combined with the rebels’ domestic unpopularity – an October 2024 survey by the Sanaa Centre for Strategic Studie
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