The United Nations said on Friday that Yemen's Houthi rebels have once again detained its personnel in the war-wracked country. They were detained in areas controlled by the Iran-backed militia, the UN Yemen office said.

After its staff members were detained by the Houthis, the United Nations has decided to suspend all travel activities into areas held by these rebels in Yemen. The assets linked to the US and Israel have remained major targets for Houthis in the region.

The United Nations said on Friday that the Houthis who control northern Yemen had detained an unspecified number of UN personnel, and it was suspending movement in all Houthi-held areas while seeking

The move will authorize harsher penalties on the Iran-backed group, which has attacked Israel and disrupted global shipping trade in the Red Sea for over a year.

The United Nations (UN) says it has suspended all movement in Houthi-held areas of Yemen after a number of UN personnel were detained by the armed group in the capital, Sanaa. The UN said that it was actively engaging with senior Houthi officials to try to secure the release of all its detained employees.

The UN said on Friday it was suspending “all official movements” in Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen after the rebel group detained a number of people employed by the world body. The office of the resident UN co-ordinator for Yemen called for the “immediate and unconditional” release of all its detained staff held in the country.