UN calls for release of detained staffers‏‏

The United Nations on Wednesday demanded the release of two U.N. staffers detained earlier this month by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

U.N. officials were given assurances by senior Houthi officials last week that the two men, both Yemenis, would be released, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, adding that they have not been freed.

“U.N. staff should not be arbitrarily detained,” Dujarric told reporters.

He said the U.N. staffers work for the U.N. human rights office and UNESCO, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and were detained on Nov. 5 and Nov. 7.

Dujarric said U.N. officials have not been able to contact the men.

Yemen has been convulsed by  war since 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels took control of the capital of Sanaa and much of the northern part of the country, forcing the internationally recognized government to flee to the south, then to Saudi Arabia.