The United Nations on Friday suspended all travel into areas held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels after seven more of their staff were detained by the rebels.
The Houthis had signaled Friday night they planned a release of prisoners, part of their efforts to ease tensions after the ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
Yemen's Houthi group said it will free dozens of prisoners on Saturday, calling the move a "unilateral humanitarian initiative," Abdul Qader al-Murtada, head of the Houthi-run prisoner affairs committee,
Yemen's Houthis released 153 prisoners on Saturday with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the ICRC said in a statement. The identities of the prisoners were not disclosed,
The United Nations said on Friday that the Houthis who control northern Yemen had detained seven U.N. personnel, and it was suspending all UN staff movement in Houthi-held areas while seeking the detainees' immediate release.
Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who are poised to return to the US terrorism blacklist, released more than 150 prisoners of war in tearful scenes on Saturday.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement has released the crew of a cargo ship more than a year after its fighters hijacked the vessel in the Red Sea, as part of its campaign of attacks in support of Hamas in its war against Israel.
The move will authorize harsher penalties on the Iran-backed group, which has attacked Israel and disrupted global shipping trade in the Red Sea for over a year.
Yemen's Huthi rebels accused Washington on Thursday of designating them a terrorist group for supporting the Palestinian people, their stated motive for months of attacks on Israel and in the Red Sea.
Yemen's Houthi rebels have released the crew of the Galaxy Leader, a vehicle carrier seized in November 2023 at the start of their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war.
Yemen's Huthi rebels have detained another group of UN personnel, a United Nations statement said on Friday, after 13 staff were held last June.
The Houthis have previously detained UN staffers, as well as individuals associated with the then US Embassy in Sanaa and aid groups.View on euronews