Yemen’s Houthi rebels release 290 captives: Red Cross

By Mohamed al-Samei

SANAA (AA) – Yemen's Houthi rebel group has released 290 captives, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Monday.

"The released included 42 people who survived the attack, which targeted detention place in the Dhamar province this month," the organization said in a statement.

On Sept. 1, Houthis said Saudi-led Arab coalition warplanes bombed a prison in Dhamar, killing more than 150 prisoners and wounding 50 others.

Earlier Monday, the rebel group said it set free 350 captives, including three Saudis, according to the Houthi-run Al-Masirah T.V.

For his part, UN special envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths hailed the move, saying it would ease prisoner swaps between the warring sides within the scope of the cease-fire deal concluded in Sweden.

In December, Yemeni government representatives and Houthi rebel leaders held a round of UN-brokered talks in Stockholm which yielded a cease-fire agreement in the Red Sea port city of Al-Hudaydah.

The warring parties, however, have yet to fully withdraw from Al-Hudaydah amid tit-for-tat accusations of truce violations and sporadic clashes in other parts of the country.

Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including Sanaa. The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.

Since then, tens of thousands of Yemenis, including numerous civilians, are believed to have been killed in the conflict, while another 14 million are at risk of starvation, according to the UN.