Yemen’s Huthi rebels freed 153 “conflict-related” prisoners on Saturday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said, as a ceasefire largely holds after years of war.
The prisoners were released in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital that was seized by the Iran-backed Huthis in 2014, precipitating a civil war that has shattered the country.
“This operation has brought much-needed relief and joy to families who have been anxiously waiting for the return of their loved ones,” said Christine Cipolla, the ICRC’s head of delegation in Yemen.
📍 Yemen | Today, 153 conflict-related detainees were unilaterally released in Sana’a. We assisted the detainees to ensure their release was humane and dignified.
Read more: https://t.co/6cryAfWshj
— ICRC (@ICRC) January 25, 2025
Abdulqader al-Murtada, head of the Huthis’ Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs, meanwhile said in a statement that “the initiative is for humanitarian reasons and unilaterally.”
“Most of those released are humanitarian cases, including the sick, the wounded, the elderly,” he added.
The release comes after the Iran-backed Huthis detained seven United Nations personnel operating in rebel-held territory on Thursday, prompting a protest from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
“Their continued arbitrary detention is unacceptable,” Guterres said in a statement, calling for the “immediate and unconditional” release of all UN staff held in Yemen.
The Huthis have detained dozens of staff from UN and other humanitarian organizations, most since the middle of last year, alleging an American-Israeli spying ring.
Saturday’s release also follows US President Donald Trump‘s signing of an executive order that moves to return the Huthis to the list of foreign terrorist organizations.
Re-listing the Huthis will trigger a review of UN agencies and other NGOs working in Yemen that receive US funding, according to the order signed on Wednesday.
A decade of war has plunged Yemen into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with 18 million people needing assistance and protection, according to the UN.
Last May, the Huthis freed 113 prisoners in a similar unilateral release. In April 2023, the rebels and Yemen’s government exchanged about 1,000 prisoners of war.
The ICRC on Saturday said it carried out pre-release interviews and medical checks before the prisoners were freed and helped arrange travel back to their homes.
The Huthis’ seizure of Sanaa in September 2014 prompted a Saudi-led intervention the following March in a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people as a result of both direct and indirect causes, such as disease.
A UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022 has sharply reduced the fighting. But the rebels have been firing on Israel and Red Sea shipping during the Gaza war, prompting reprisal strikes from US, Israeli and British forces.
