The United States condemns the detention of Yemeni staff of the U.S. embassy in Sanaa by the Houthi movement and demands their immediate release, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Friday.

Dozens of Yemeni citizens and their family members have been detained and mistreated by the Iran-aligned Houthis because they worked for the United States in a caretaker capacity since the embassy there closed in 2015, the statement said.

“The Houthis must immediately release unharmed all Yemeni employees of the United States, vacate the embassy compound, return seized property, and cease their threats,” Blinken said.

Reuters