The unrecognized Houthi government announced that it had opened and launched work on water and environmental sanitation projects worth more than two million dollars, funded by United Nations agencies, even though its employees remained in the group’s detention for about five months.

The Houthi-run Saba Agency said that the Minister of Electricity, Energy and Water in the group’s government; Dr. Ali Saif Muhammad opened and inaugurated, on Monday, more than 7 water and sanitation projects in the Bani Matar and Manakhah districts of Sana’a Governorate under its control, at a total cost of $2,063,061.

The agency stated that these projects are mainly funded by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the European Union.

It is noteworthy that the group had announced in mid-July the opening and inauguration of similar projects in the governorates of Ibb, Dhamar, Taiz, and Hodeidah, worth $9 million, and also with funding from United Nations agencies and international organizations.

The United Nations and its agencies continue to fund the implementation of projects in Houthi-controlled areas, despite the group’s continued detention of dozens of employees of the United Nations, local and international non-governmental organizations, diplomatic missions, and civil society organizations, from the beginning of last June until now.