UN staffers to face trial in Yemen over 'clear links' to deadly Israeli strikes

Yemen’s acting foreign minister says a group within the World Food Programme participated in Israel’s assassination of several top officials in August  

News Desk  -  The Cradle

Dozens of UN staffers are set to face trial in Yemen over suspected links to the Israeli attack in August in Sanaa, in which several top government ministers were assassinated, an official told Reuters on 31 October.

Abdulwahid Abu Ras, acting foreign minister in the Ansarallah-led government based in Yemen’s capital, said the “steps taken by the security agencies were carried out under full judicial supervision,” adding that “the public prosecution was kept informed step by step with every action taken.”

“Therefore, as long as the prosecution is informed, it is certain that this process is moving toward its conclusion, leading to trials and the issuance of judicial rulings,” he went on to say. 

Abu Ras also said that the accused group of World Food Programme (WFP) members was “clearly involved” in the deadly Israeli attack. 

The UN says there are 59 detained staff members held by Sanaa authorities. Around a dozen of them were detained this month. 

Forty-three are reportedly set to face trial over the assassinations. They are all Yemeni employees of the UN, and could potentially face capital punishment in line with Yemen’s law.

On Sunday, Yemeni security forces entered a number of UN offices and confiscated computers and IT equipment, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. 

The UN has denied that any of its staff members were involved. 

The attack in question took place on 28 August. Prime minister Ahmad Ghalib al-Rahwi and several other top officials were killed. 

On 16 October, Yemen confirmed that Chief of Staff Major General Muhammad Abdul Karim al-Ghamari was among those killed in the attack. 

Several deadly and destructive Israeli strikes have hit Yemen since the summer of last year, but all failed to prevent the Yemeni army and Ansarallah from targeting Israel. 

The Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF), which is merged with Ansarallah, was among the first to open a front against Israel at the start of the genocide in Gaza following Operation Al-Aqsa Flood in October 2023.

The YAF and Ansarallah carried out scores of successful missile and drone strikes against Israeli targets, and opened up a naval front that decimated global shipping and Israeli maritime interests over the past two years.

As the result of this front, the southern Israeli port of Eilat was forced shut. Yemen had vowed repeatedly since the start of the war two years ago that its operations would not stop until the genocide in Gaza ended and the siege was lifted.

The Yemeni operations came to a halt following the Gaza ceasefire. 

Tel Aviv is reportedly considering renewing attacks on Yemen despite Sanaa’s forces halting strikes on Israel. 

Hebrew news outlet Channel 12 reported earlier this month that “intense discussions within the security establishment recently led to separating the Yemen front from that of Gaza, allowing military action against Yemen to continue post-ceasefire.”

Yemeni President Mahdi al-Mashat said Sanaa will respect the ceasefire, but vowed that the country will remain “vigilant.”