Houthi rebels release 153 'conflict-related' Yemeni prisoners: ICRC

SANAA: Yemen’s Houthi rebels freed 153 “conflict-related” prisoners on Saturday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said, as a ceasefire largely holds after years of war.

The prisoners were released in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital that was seized by the Iran-backed Houthis in 2014, precipitating a civil war that has shattered the country.

“This operation has brought much-needed relief and joy to families who have been anxiously waiting for the return of their loved ones,” said Christine Cipolla, the ICRC’s head of delegation in Yemen.

Abdulqader al-Murtada, head of the Houthis’ Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs, meanwhile said in a statement that “the initiative is for humanitarian reasons and unilaterally”.

“Most of those released are humanitarian cases, including the sick, the wounded, the elderly,” he added.

The release comes after the Houthis detained seven United Nations personnel operating in rebel-held territory on Thursday, prompting a protest from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

“Their continued arbitrary detention is unacceptable,” Guterres said in a statement, calling for the “immediate and unconditional” release of all UN staff held in Yemen.

Saturday’s release also follows US President Donald Trump’s signing of an executive order that moves to return the Houthis to the list of foreign terrorist organisations.

Re-listing the Houthis will trigger a review of UN agencies and other NGOs working in Yemen that receive US funding, according to the order signed on Wednesday.

Last May, the Houthis freed 113 prisoners in a similar unilateral release. In April 2023, the rebels and Yemen’s government exchanged about 1,000 prisoners of war.

The ICRC on Saturday said it carried out pre-release interviews and medical checks before the prisoners were freed and helped arrange travel back to their homes.

The Houthis’ seizure of Sanaa in September 2014 prompted a Saudi-led intervention the following March in a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people as a result of both direct and indirect causes, such as disease.

A UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022 has sharply reduced the fighting. But the rebels have been firing on Israel and Red Sea shipping during the Gaza war, prompting reprisal strikes from US, Israeli and British forces.