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.
Fighters loyal to Yemen’s President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi are battling the Houthis and loyalists of the country’s former leader in a war that has killed about 6,000 people.
Sharabi, the detained journalist, had worked for local daily Akhbar al-Youm, which the Houthis closed down after taking control of Sanaa in 2014.
Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2016
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