DUBAI, Sept 17, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The United Nations has relocated its top humanitarian coordinator in Yemen from Sanaa, which is under Huthi control, to the government-held city of Aden, officials said Tuesday.

The move comes after the detention of dozens of UN personnel in areas controlled by the Iran-backed Huthi rebels.

Yemen's foreign ministry, in a statement, welcomed "the decision of the United Nations to relocate the place of appointment of the Resident Coordinator for Yemen from Sanaa to the interim capital, Aden".

"The ministry encourages all agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations to follow suit and relocate their country representatives to the temporary capital," it added.

Yemen's internationally recognised government established its headquarters in the southern city of Aden after the rebels drove them out of Sanaa in 2014.

A spokesperson for the UN resident coordinator confirmed the relocation.

"The Resident Coordinator will maintain a presence in Sanaa. He will be travelling across the country, including to Sanaa," the spokesperson said.

The United Nations said in August that the Huthis had seized at least 11 of its employees as part of a wave of detentions after an Israeli strike killed the rebels' prime minister.

The World Food Programme reported Tuesday that 44 humanitarian workers were currently arbitrarily detained by the Huthi authorities, including 21 members of its staff.

It called for their immediate release.

Since August 31, 2025, 21 UN staff members have been detained, adding to the 23 members and former employees of international NGOs already held, according to the same source.

Ten years of civil war have plunged Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country, into one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, according to the UN.