Yemen rebels detain 20 journalists for several hours

Yemeni officials say rebels detained at least 20 journalists attending an event in the capital Sanaa but most were later released.

The officials said on Thursday that rebels known as Houthis released the journalists after holding them for several hours, including the former head of Yemen’s journalists union Abdel-Bari Taher, but took two to an unknown place.

The two were identified as Ashraf el-Refi, managing editor for el-Wahdawi newspaper, and Adel Abdel-Moughni, the founder of the non-governmental organization that sponsored the event.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.

Fatima al-Aghbari, who attended the event, wrote on Facebook that the journalists were held in a hotel in Sanaa.

The event was organized by Abdel-Moughni’s NGO in cooperation with the UN’s educational, scientific and cultural agency.

Reporters Without Borders confirmed the detentions in a tweet.

Yemen, overwhelmed by one of the worst humanitarian crises in history, ranks 167th out of 180 countries on the 2018 World Press Freedom Report.