Yemen’s Houthi rebels have unilaterally released 290 detainees as part of a UN peace initiative, the International Committee of the Red Cross says.<\/p>\n
Those freed include 42 survivors of an air strike on a prison this month that killed more than 100 people.<\/p>\n
The attack was carried out by a Saudi-led coalition backing the Yemeni government in the country’s civil war.<\/p>\n
The UN special envoy for Yemen said he hoped the Houthis’ step would lead to further releases by both sides.<\/p>\n
A prisoner swap was one of three elements of an agreement between the warring parties that was brokered by the UN in Sweden’s capital, Stockholm, in December.<\/p>\n
The head of the Houthi committee for prisoner-of-war affairs, Abdul Qader al-Murtada, said on Monday the rebels would free 350 detainees, including three unidentified Saudi nationals.<\/p>\n
“Our initiative proves our credibility in implementing the Sweden agreement and we call on the other party to take a comparable step,” he added.<\/p>\n
Later, the ICRC said it and the UN had facilitated the release of 290 detainees.<\/p>\n
The humanitarian organisation gave no details about the identities of the detainees, besides saying that they included survivors of the Dhamar attack.<\/p>\n
“The release is a positive step that will hopefully revive the release, transfer and repatriation of conflict-related detainees as per the Stockholm agreement,” it said.<\/p>\n
UN special envoy Martin Griffiths also welcomed the initiative and called on all parties to ensure the safe return of the released detainees to their homes.<\/p>\n
The UN says the fighting in Yemen has left at least 7,000 civilians dead. But monitors believe the death toll is far higher. The US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) estimates that more than 90,000 civilians and combatants have been killed.<\/p>\n
The civil war has also triggered the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, with thousands of civilians dying from preventable causes, including malnutrition, disease and poor health.<\/p>\n
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