Houthis detained a UN official at Sana’a International Airport last Thursday before returning her to Jordan and confiscating her communications equipment, a source on the liaison committee that oversees implementation of Hodeidah agreement told Almasdar Online.

The source, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said that Houthi authorities at Sana’a airport detained the communications officer of the UN Mission in support of Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA), returned her to Jordan and confiscated the mission's telecommunications equipment.

The Houthi argument for preventing the UN worker’s entry was that she was "close to the liaison officers of the internationally recognized government and accepted their reports of Houthi violations," alluding to a recent report that accused the rebels of more than 13,000 violations of the Hodeidah ceasefire agreement, the source said. 

Houthi authorities said in a press conference in late November that the group had detained a number of UN workers on suspicion of spying, including two Jordanians who were released at that time. The nationality of the UN worker turned away at Sana'a airport on Thursday is unclear. She was sent back to Jordan's capital Amman because that's where her flight had originated. 

Regarding UN work on the Hodeidah agreement, the source said no significant progress was made at the latest meeting of liaison officers.

During the meeting, UNMHA chief and chair of the UN Redeployment Coordination Committee Lt. Gen. Abhejit Joha presented a concept for the implementation of the first and second phases of redeploying troops in Hodeidah, the source said, noting that the concept had been presented by Joha's predecessor Lt. Gen. Michael Lollesgaard. 

"The government team returned yesterday evening to the city of Al-Mokha without making any progress," the source said.