CAIRO (AP) — The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Sunday launched greater than 100 battle prisoners linked to the nation’s long-running battle, the Worldwide Committee of the Purple Cross mentioned.
The unilateral launch got here greater than a yr after Yemen’s warring sides freed more than 800 prisoners in a significant alternate within the nation in April final yr.
The discharge of 113 prisoners passed off Sunday morning within the Houthi-held capital of Sanaa, the Purple Cross mentioned in a press release, including that the launched detainees had been amongst these the ICRC visited and assisted recurrently of their detention within the Yemeni capital.
“We hope this paves the best way for additional releases, bringing consolation to households eagerly anticipating reunification with their family members,” mentioned Daphnee Maret, the ICRC’s head of delegation in Yemen.
One of many launched detainees with well being points was transferred in an ambulance to his hometown inside Yemen, the ICRC mentioned with out elaborating.
The discharge was delayed by a day due to obvious logistical causes, mentioned Abdul-Qader al-Murtaza, a Houthi official accountable for prisoner alternate talks.
1000’s of persons are nonetheless believed to be held as prisoners of battle for the reason that battle erupted in 2014, with others lacking. The Purple Cross seen Sunday’s releases as a “constructive step” to revive prisoner alternate negotiations.
“We’re able to play our function as a impartial middleman in facilitating the discharge, switch, and repatriation of detainees,” it mentioned.
Yemen was plunged right into a devastating battle when the Houthis descended from their northern stronghold and seized Sanaa and far of northern Yemen, forcing the federal government into exile.
A Saudi-led coalition together with the United Arab Emirates intervened in 2015 to attempt to restore the internationally acknowledged authorities. The battle has turned in recent times right into a proxy battle between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Greater than 150,000 folks, together with fighters and civilians, have died in one of many world’s worst humanitarian disasters.