Yemen’s Houthis release 159 detainees in Sanaa: ICRC

Yemen's Houthi group released 159 people it recently detained, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Saturday.

The ICRC said the unilateral release was carried out by authorities in Sanaa with its support.

Its delegates interviewed the detainees before their release, informed their families and provided assistance for their return home.

Medical teams also assessed their health and fitness for road travel and arranged additional travel support for those who needed it.

The release was initiated by the Houthi-affiliated National Committee for Prisoners Affairs and does not fall under the Stockholm Agreement, the ICRC said, stressing that it played no role in determining who or how many people would be released.

The Stockholm Agreement was reached in Sweden in December 2018 under UN auspices between Yemen's internationally recognized government and the Houthis.

The Houthis said on Friday the detainees were prisoners who "voluntarily surrendered without fighting during the recent events."

The group said they were being released under an amnesty issued by Mahdi al-Mashat, head of its Supreme Political Council, and that local authorities would coordinate their return to their families and home areas.

The release comes amid renewed fighting between the Houthis and forces aligned with Yemen's internationally recognized government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition.

The Houthis have controlled the capital Sanaa and large parts of northern and western Yemen since 2014, while the Saudi-led coalition intervened in the conflict in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.