In northern Yemen, Houthi militants detained seven UN staff members. All movements of personnel have been halted in areas controlled by the terrorists, and the organization's leadership is demanding their release,

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 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 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 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.

Yemen's Huthi rebels have detained another group of UN personnel, a United Nations statement said on Friday, after 13 staff were held last June.