Yemen’s Houthi authorities have ordered the United States and British staff of the United Nations and Sanaa-based humanitarian organisations to leave the country within a month.
A document and a Houthi official revealed this, on Wednesday.
The decision followed the strike of the United States and Britain, with support from other nations, against Military targets of the Iran-aligned group.
The group had been launching attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea that are linked to Israel.
The U.S. government last week likewise returned the Houthis to a list of terrorist groups as Washington tries to stem attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea.
The Houthis said their attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinians as Israel bombards Gaza.
“The Ministry … would like to stress that you must inform officials and workers with the United States and British citizenships to prepare to leave the country within 30 days” an official was quoted to have said.
Peter Hawkins in a letter sent by the Houthi Foreign Ministry to the UN’s acting humanitarian coordinator in Yemen.
The letter also ordered foreign organisations to not hire American and British citizens for Yemen’s operations, Houthi top negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam confirmed the letter’s authenticity to Reuters.
A British national, in the Hawkins office did not respond to a request for comment.
The United States embassy said in a statement it was aware of reports about the letter.
However, “cannot speak on behalf of the United Nations or humanitarian organisations in Yemen as to what they may have received from Houthi ‘authorities’”
The British embassy said staff had not yet been told to leave and the mission was in close contact with the United Nations on the issue.
“The United Nation provided vital assistance to the Yemeni people … via the very sea routes that the Houthis are jeopardising”
