Houthi pilgrims depart Yemeni capital for Saudi Arabia for Hajj

By Mohammed Samei

SANAA, Yemen (AA) – A flight carrying pilgrims from Yemen’s Houthi rebel group left the capital Sanaa for Saudi Arabia for Hajj pilgrimage for the first time since 2014.

A number of Houthi leaders are on board of the flight, including Deputy Minister of Guidance Allama Fouad Naji and Houthi negotiator Yahya al-Razami, the Houthi-run Saba news agency reported.

It was the first time for Houthi leaders to fly from Sanaa to Saudi Arabia for Hajj since 2014.

There was no comment from the Saudi authorities on the report.

On Saturday, a commercial flight carrying 275 Yemeni pilgrims departed Sanaa airport to Saudi Arabia for the ritual.

The Hajj, the pilgrimage to Islam's holiest site, the Kaaba in Mecca, is one of the five pillars of Islam. Muslims are required to perform it at least once if they have the means.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa. The situation escalated when a Saudi-led military coalition entered the war in 2015 to reverse Houthi military gains and reinstate the Yemeni government.

Since 2016, the Saudi-led coalition imposed a blockade on the Sanaa airport as part of its campaign against Houthi rebels.

The war-torn nation, however, began to witness a state of deescalation recently after nine years of fighting amid efforts by the UN to settle the conflict.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi