CAIRO: Gunmen from Yemen's Houthi movement detained a local journalist and five activists after a raid on an apartment in the capital Sanaa on Saturday, activists said, the latest detention of a reporter in the war-ravaged country.
The gunmen stormed the apartment at dawn and took journalist Nabil Al-Sharabi and the activists to an unknown location. The Houthis had fired guns when the men attempted to escape, activists said.
Representatives of the Iran-allied Houthi movement were not immediately reachable for comment. Human Rights Watch says the Houthis have detained numerous political opposition figures, activists, and journalists.
Sharabi, the detained journalist, had worked for local daily Akhbar Al-Youm, which the Houthis closed down after taking control of Sanaa in 2014. The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate says the Houthis have been holding 12 other journalists for several months after accusing them of acting against the movement and of supporting Hadi's government.
Yemen is ranked 168th out of 180 countries in the 2015 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index. The group said last week that at least 17 journalists and media workers were being held hostage in Yemen by armed groups including the Houthis.
Separately, a suicide bombing killed seven people and wounded seven others Friday night in Aden, the second deadly attack in as many days in Yemen’s second city, medics and security sources said.
The bombing targeted a police checkpoint not far from Thursday’s suicide attack that killed eight people.
The gunmen stormed the apartment at dawn and took journalist Nabil Al-Sharabi and the activists to an unknown location. The Houthis had fired guns when the men attempted to escape, activists said.
Representatives of the Iran-allied Houthi movement were not immediately reachable for comment. Human Rights Watch says the Houthis have detained numerous political opposition figures, activists, and journalists.
Sharabi, the detained journalist, had worked for local daily Akhbar Al-Youm, which the Houthis closed down after taking control of Sanaa in 2014. The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate says the Houthis have been holding 12 other journalists for several months after accusing them of acting against the movement and of supporting Hadi's government.
Yemen is ranked 168th out of 180 countries in the 2015 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index. The group said last week that at least 17 journalists and media workers were being held hostage in Yemen by armed groups including the Houthis.
Separately, a suicide bombing killed seven people and wounded seven others Friday night in Aden, the second deadly attack in as many days in Yemen’s second city, medics and security sources said.
The bombing targeted a police checkpoint not far from Thursday’s suicide attack that killed eight people.
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