Yemeni rebels deny entry, turn back top UN rights official

CAIRO – Officials say Yemen’s Houthi rebels have denied entry to the top U.N. human rights official and ordered his plane to take off from the capital, Sanaa, shortly after landing.

The development followed a damning report by experts commissioned by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights detailing abuses by all parties in Yemen’s civil war, including sexual violence against women in rebel-run prisons.

The officials told The Associated Press that after the OHCHR representative, Elobaid Ahmed Elobaid, landed in Sanaa on Monday, rebel security officers boarded the plane, withdrew his travel permit, and ordered the plane to leave.

The officials spoke on Tuesday on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to reporters.

Rupert Colville of the OHCHR confirmed Elobaid’s expulsion from Sanaa but wouldn’t elaborate.