(7 Jun 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Dubai, United Arab Emirates – 07 June 2024
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1. SOUNDBITE (English) Jon Gambrell, AP’s Gulf and Iran news director:
"Officials say Yemen’s Houthi rebels have taken at least nine local employees of the United Nations. Now, this comes as the Houthis have been under tremendous pressure as their nearly decade-long war in Yemen has dragged on. Now, we don’t know exactly all the names of the people who have been taken. However, what we do know is that these detentions also come alongside of the detentions of others in aid groups operating in Yemen. The Houthis haven’t offered any explanation from this, but it may be a way to try to pressure the West, pressure the international community, as the Houthis are facing real challenges when it comes to funding their government, when it comes to threats of potential funding being cut off over the fact that there’s still a stalemate war going on there and the Houthis haven’t really come back to the negotiating table to make a long-term peace with a Saudi-led coalition that’s been battling them since 2015. All this comes amid the wider tensions in the Middle East, and the Houthis have been played a real part in that, targeting ships in the Red Sea over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. But now the attention is firmly on the Houthis back home."
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STORYLINE:
At least nine Yemeni employees of United Nations agencies have been detained by Yemen’s Houthi rebels under unclear circumstances.
That’s according to regional officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Friday as they weren’t authorized to brief journalists.
Associated Press’ Gulf and Iran news director Jon Gambrell discusses the situation.
Gambrell said: "It may be a way to try to pressure the West, pressure the international community, as the Houthis are facing real challenges when it comes to funding their government, when it comes to threats of potential funding being cut off over the fact that there’s still a stalemate war going on."
A human rights group said people working for aid groups are also likely to have been detained.
The detentions come as the Houthis have been targeting shipping throughout the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war.
The group has been cracking down on dissent, though it’s unclear what sparked the detentions.
The rebels have faced increasing casualties from U.S.-led airstrikes and economic strains from a civil war that has killed 150,000 people and caused a humanitarian disaster.
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