Iran-backed Houthis order US, British aid workers to leave Yemen after strikes

Yemen’s Houthi authorities have ordered US and British staff of the United Nations and Sanaa-based humanitarian organizations to leave the country within a month, a document and a Houthi official say.

The decision follows the United States and Britain, with support from other nations, striking military targets of the Iran-aligned group which has been launching attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea that is says are linked to Israel.

The US government last week also returned the group to a list of terrorist groups as Washington tries to stem attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea. The Houthis have said their attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinians as Israel strikes Gaza.

“The ministry… would like to stress that you must inform officials and workers with US and British citizenships to prepare to leave the country within 30 days,” says a letter sent by the Houthi foreign ministry to the UN’s acting humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, Peter Hawkins.

The letter also ordered foreign organizations to not hire American and British citizens for Yemen’s operations.

Houthi top negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam confirms the letter’s authenticity to Reuters.

The office of Hawkins, who is himself a British national, did not respond to a request for comment. The US and British embassies in Yemen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Yemen is in a deep humanitarian crisis, labeled among the worst in the world by the UN.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.