UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday denounced the death of a staff member of the World Food Programme (WFP) detained by the Houthis in Yemen, calling for an immediate, transparent and thorough investigation into the tragedy.

"I strongly condemn the death in detention on 10 February of a World Food Programme colleague who had been arbitrarily detained by the Houthi de facto authorities since 23 January 2025," Guterres said in a statement.

The UN chief extended his deepest condolences to the employee's family and WFP colleagues.

"The circumstances surrounding this deplorable tragedy remain unclear, and the United Nations is urgently seeking explanations" from the Houthis, he said, calling for "an immediate, transparent and thorough investigation" and for those responsible to be held accountable.

Guterres said that dozens of personnel from the United Nations, national and international NGOs, civil society organizations, and diplomatic missions continue to be detained, some of whom for several years.

"Their continued arbitrary detention is unacceptable," he stressed, renewing his call for their immediate and unconditional release.

A UN source in Yemen told Xinhua that Ahmed Baalawi, an IT operations officer with the WFP, died on Monday in a Houthi detention facility in northern Yemen's Saada province.

The UN announced on Monday a temporary suspension of its operations in Saada after the Houthis detained eight more of its staff. According to a UN statement, six of the detained UN employees were working in Saada. Enditem

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