Active Conflicts & News Megathread September 01, 2025

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[u/IntroductionNeat2746]

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/31/middleeast/houthis-un-building-yemen-israel-intl

Houthis storm UN buildings in Yemeni capital after Israel killed PM and other ministers

Iran-backed Houthi rebels stormed the offices of two United Nations agencies in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Sunday, a day after Israel said it killed the prime minister of the rebel-controlled government.

The offices the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF) were “entered by local security forces” on Sunday morning, spokespersons for the agencies told CNN in separate statements.

A WFP staff member was detained, as were a number of UNICEF staff members, according to the statements.

Hans Grundberg, the United Nations special envoy for Yemen, later confirmed that at least 11 UN personnel were detained, adding that he “strongly” condemns the detentions, as well as the forced entry into UN premises.

Seems to me like a display of weakness by the now headless Houthis. They cannot retaliate against Israel or the US, so they're instead attacking UN staff as a way to try and show force.

[u/Tricky-Astronaut → u/IntroductionNeat2746]

This isn't the first time UN staff is kidnapped in Yemen. On the contrary, nobody has kidnapped more UN staff than the Houthis.

Unfortunately, it won't be easy to dislodge them given the apathy of the West, the incompetence of the Saudis and the distance to Israel.

[u/Thoth_the_5th_of_Tho → u/Tricky-Astronaut]

UN presence in Houthi territory does more to benefit the Houthis than anyone else. So no one else will be that invested in stopping this.

[u/ChornWork2 → u/Thoth_the_5th_of_Tho]

Probably benefits starving people and children more, which is the whole mission of WFP and UNICEF to the credit of the brave people that work for organizations such as those.

Look at situation in Gaza that until Israel's blockade of aid, the UN was still managing to effectively distribute aid despite the threats from both Hamas and Israel. And now that they've been effectively shut down by israel, the overall civilian population is being starved.