Dubai — Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Sunday accused Yemen’s Houthi rebels of arbitrarily detaining dozens of opponents in the capital Sanaa, where they have ruled for more than 15 months.
The Iran-backed Shiite rebels detained 35 people between August 2014 and October 2015, the rights group said, adding that 27 remained in custody.
It said many of the detainees appeared to have links to the Islah Sunni Islamist party, a rival of the rebels. “Houthi arrests and forced disappearances of alleged Islah supporters have generated palpable fear in the capital,” said Joe Stork, HRW’s deputy Middle East director.
“Politicians, activists, lawyers, and journalists tell us they’ve never been more frightened of ending up ‘disappeared,’” he said.
Aided by troops loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Houthis overran Sanaa unopposed in September 2014, and went on to expand their control over several regions.
A Saudi-led coalition launched a military campaign against the rebels in March after the insurgents advanced on the southern city of Aden.
“At a time when the Houthis are fighting to remain key power brokers in Yemen, they should recognize that instilling fear in the population is no way to govern,” Stork said.
“The Houthis should take the necessary steps to ensure that no one is held unlawfully and families have access to their loved ones,” he said.
A fresh round of UN-sponsored talks to end the Yemen conflict is due later this month in Geneva.
Meanwhile, the coalition bombing rebels in Yemen denied Sunday the accusations of dropping cluster munitions in the country.
Coalition spokesman Brig. Gen. Ahmed Al-Assiri said that the alliance “denies using cluster bombs in Sanaa,” the Yemeni capital.
Assiri said the coalition has admitted to previously using CBU-105 cluster bombs against rebel vehicles.
“Now they don’t have any more vehicles so we don’t use it,” he said.
Assiri said the coalition didn’t possess the specific munition detailed in the report, adding that 90 percent of coalition operations in Sanaa are directed against Scud missile launchers.
“You cannot use a cluster bomb against Scud launchers,” Assiri said. “We have nothing to hide.”
Assiri said the coalition has been targeting missile launchers which have fired “indiscriminately” on the Saudi border regions of Jazan and Najran.
Around 90 civilians and soldiers have died from shelling and skirmishes in Saudi border regions since March when the coalition began air and ground action in Yemen. — Agencies
