Yemeni Houthi rebels release hundreds of detainees
September 30, 2019
Houthi rebels in Yemen fighting the country's Saudi-backed government have released hundreds of detainees from a Sanaa prison. The UN has said the move revives hopes for further talks in a long and bitter civil war.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/M. Hamoud
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Yemeni Houthi rebels on Monday released at least 290 detainees from a prison in the capital, Sanaa, as part of a UN-brokered prisoner exchange agreement between the rebels and Yemen's Saudi-backed government.
Many of the prisoners were taken in raids that the rebels have carried out since 2014, when they overran Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen, pushing Yemen's government out.
Saudi Arabia intervened on behalf of the Yemeni government in 2015, intensifying a civil war and humanitarian catastrophe in the country.
The Houthis said on Monday that they had freed 350 detainees from Sanaa's Central Prison, adding that those released were on a list that had been prepared for the UN deal.
The Red Cross said it had facilitated the release of 290 prisoners; however, more could have been freed without the aid group's involvement, according to The Associated Press.
Detainees being released from Central Prison in Sanaa on September 30Image: picture-alliance/AA/M. Hamoud
A Houthi official in charge of prisoners' affairs told reporters in front of the prison that the move "proved" the rebels' credibility in implementing the agreement reached in Sweden in late 2018, calling on the Saudi-led coalition to "take a comparable step."
The UN's special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, welcomed the unilateral release of the detainees, adding he hoped the move would "lead to further initiatives that will facilitate the exchange of all the conflict-related detainees as per the Stockholm Agreement."
"I invite the parties to meet at the nearest opportunity and to resume the discussions on future exchange," he added.
The Houthis said on September 20 that they would halt missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia if the Saudi-led coalition ceased operations.
On Sunday, the rebels claimed to have captured "thousands" of Saudi soldiers in an attack near the Saudi border with Yemen. On Monday, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition called the claim a "farce," according to The Associated Press.
Yemen: An ever-worsening crisis
Yemen has struggled to cope with crises prompted by its atrocious civil war, including catastrophic hunger and devastating cholera outbreaks. DW examines the conflict and how it affects the country's civilian population.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mohammed
War: The 'root cause' of Yemen's disasters
The UN has identified conflict as the "root cause" of Yemen's crises. Tens of thousands of people have been killed since the war erupted in 2014, when Shiite Houthi rebels launched a campaign to capture the capital, Sanaa. In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition launched a deadly campaign against the rebels, one that has been widely criticized by human rights groups for its high civilian death toll.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mohammed
Fighting keeps food from the famished
The conflict has prevented humanitarian aid from reaching large parts of the civilian population, resulting in more than two-thirds of the country's 28 million people being classified as "food insecure." Nearly 3 million children and pregnant or nursing women are acutely malnourished, according to the UN World Food Program.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mohammed
Displacement: Converging crises
More than 3 million people have been displaced by conflict, including marginalized communities such as the "Muhammasheen," a minority tribe that originally migrated from Africa. Despite the civil war, many flee conflict in Somalia and head to Yemen, marking the convergence of two major migration crises in the Middle East nation. Yemen hosts around 250,000 Somali refugees, according to UNHCR.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mohammed
Cholera: A deadly epidemic
The number of suspected cholera cases has exceeded more than 2 million and least 3,700 people have died from the waterborne bacterial infection in Yemen since October 2019, said the WHO. Although cholera can be easily treated, it can kill within hours when untreated.
Image: Reuters/K. Abdullah
Unsuspecting victims of the'war on terror'
In Yemen, violence goes beyond civil conflict: It is considered a strategic front in the war on terrorism. The country serves as the operational base for al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, dubbed the "most dangerous" terrorist group before the rise of the "Islamic State." The US routinely uses drones to target al-Qaida leadership. However, civilians have often been killed in the operations.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Y. Arhab
Children's fate: Future marred by tragedy
In a country paralyzed by conflict, children are one of the most at-risk groups in Yemen. More than 12 million children require humanitarian aid, according to the UN humanitarian coordination agency. The country's education system is "on the brink of collapse," while children are dying of "preventable causes like malnutrition, diarrhea and respiratory tract infections," according to the agency.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mohammed
Peace: An elusive future
Despite several attempts at UN-backed peace talks, the conflict continues to rage on. Saudi Arabia has vowed to continue supporting the internationally recognized government of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. On the other hand, Houthi rebels have demanded the formation of a unity government in order to move forward on a political solution. A peace deal, however, remains elusive.
