UPDATE - Yemen's Houthis abduct 20 journos in Sanaa: Commission

UPDATES WITH THE RELEASE OF 18 JOURNALISTS

By Shoukry Hussein and Zeynep Hilal Karyagdi

ADEN, Yemen (AA) - Yemen’s Houthi rebel group on Thursday abducted 20 journalists and media personnel in capital Sanaa, according to a government-run human rights commission.

The journalists were abducted after organizing a forum devoted to combatting “hate speech”, Eshraq al-Maqtari, a spokeswoman for Yemen’s government-run National Commission to Investigate Alleged Human Rights Violations, said via Twitter.

Later on Thursday, Nabeel al-Osaidy, Education Commission Chairman of Journalists' Syndicate in Yemen, announced on his Facebook account that 18 of the 20 abducted journalists were released.

Osaidy said the Houhis still hold two journalists, named Ashraf el-Refi and Adel Abdel-Moughni.

There is no information yet on the reason of the journalists' abduction.

Since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, impoverished Yemen has remained wracked by violence and turmoil.