LONDON: The UN on Friday welcomed the release of Houthi prisoners by the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen.
“I welcome the release of detainees by the Saudi-led Coalition, and the earlier releases of detainees by Ansar Allah as well as the government of Yemen,” UN envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg said, using another name for the Iran-backed Houthi militia.
Grundberg said the prisoner releases was agreed by the parties through his office last month on another exchange of detainees.
The Coalition released on Friday 163 Houthi prisoners of war and helped send them back to Aden and Sanaa as part of its initiative to pave the way for ending the conflict in the country.
“I urge the parties to agree on the details of the release, so that Yemeni families may be reunited as soon as possible,” Grundberg said,
“This will be an important step toward fulfilling commitments made in Stockholm to release all conflict-related detainees” he added, while thanking the International Committee of the Red Cross “for their valuable role.”
The ICRC is facilitating the transfer of over 100 detainees from Saudi Arabia to Yemen in three planes.
Meanwhile, US envoy to Yemen Tim Lenderking held talks with a number of international non-governmental organizations to hear about their experience in Yemen and discuss what is needed to reduce suffering across the country, the State Department said on Friday.
“We must seize the opportunity of the truce to overcome continued aid access issues and surge humanitarian funding,” Lenderking said.
