U.N. bodies urge Yemen's Houthis to release two staff members

FILE PHOTO: Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, attends a news conference on the launching of a landmark report on the damage done by modern civilisation to the natural world by the IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) at the UNESCO headquarters in Parise, May 6, 2019. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

(Reuters) - Yemen's Houthi movement has detained two staff members of UNESCO and U.N. Human Rights since early November, the UN bodies said in a joint statement on Tuesday, calling for their immediate release.

The statement gave no details on the two individuals, but a Yemeni government official told Reuters they were Yemeni staff who had previously worked for the U.S. embassy in Sanaa.