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ICRC: Yemen's Houthis Free More than 113 Detainees

A detainee embraces his mother after his release by the Houthis in Sanaa, Yemen May 26, 2024. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
A detainee embraces his mother after his release by the Houthis in Sanaa, Yemen May 26, 2024. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
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ICRC: Yemen's Houthis Free More than 113 Detainees

A detainee embraces his mother after his release by the Houthis in Sanaa, Yemen May 26, 2024. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
A detainee embraces his mother after his release by the Houthis in Sanaa, Yemen May 26, 2024. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Yemen's Houthi group freed more than 113 detainees in Sanaa on Sunday, the International Committee of the Red Cross reported.
The Houthi group claimed the detainees had been government soldiers captured at the battlefront. But Yemen's internationally recognized government said the detainees were not soldiers, but civilians the Houthis had kidnapped from homes, mosques and workplaces.
"Releasing these victims under any name does not absolve (the Houthis) of this crime," Majed Fadail, deputy minister for human rights in Yemen's internationally recognized government wrote in a post on social media platform X.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed on Sunday the unilateral release of 113 "conflict-related" detainees and said in a statement that it assisted the detainees to ensure their release was humane and dignified.
"I feel completely at ease, as if I was born again today. Because we were desperate and thought we would never get out," said Murshed Al Jamaai, a detainee released on Sunday.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since the Houthis ousted the government from the capital Sanaa in late 2014.
The outlines of a proposed Yemen UN roadmap for peace were agreed last December, but progress towards peace stalled as the Houthis ramped up attacks on ships in and around the Red Sea, alleging they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war.
The campaign has disrupted global commerce, stoked fears of inflation and deepened concern that fallout from the Israel-Hamas war could destabilize parts of the Middle East.

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Türkiye Criticizes Some NATO Countries’ Support for Kurdish Units in Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with his Czech counterpart, Jan Lipavsky, in Ankara on Tuesday (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with his Czech counterpart, Jan Lipavsky, in Ankara on Tuesday (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
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Türkiye Criticizes Some NATO Countries’ Support for Kurdish Units in Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with his Czech counterpart, Jan Lipavsky, in Ankara on Tuesday (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with his Czech counterpart, Jan Lipavsky, in Ankara on Tuesday (Turkish Foreign Ministry)

Türkiye criticized the support provided by some of its allies in NATO to the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, the largest component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

“The countries we have problems with... are America, England, and a little bit with France,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in a televised interview on Monday.

He added: “The United States maintains its presence there, and we are putting this problem on the agenda at all levels... Türkiye is continuing the highest level of diplomacy possible” as “it can no longer live with such a reality.”

The foreign minister went on to say: “We carry more sensitivity in our fight against the PKK than you (the US and the UK) do in your fight against terrorism, just on the other side of our border. It is out of the question for us to engage in any negotiations here.”

On the other hand, Fidan considered that stopping the armed conflict between the Syrian army and the opposition is currently the main “achievement” of his country and Russia.

“The most important thing that we were able to achieve in Syria along with the Russians is that there is no war currently between the army and the opposition, and the Astana negotiations and others made that possible at the present time,” he stated.

He added that Damascus needs to “use this period of calm wisely, as an opportunity to return millions of Syrians who have fled abroad to rebuild their country and revive its economy.”

The minister revealed that he discussed this matter during his recent meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

“We are studying this matter. The return of refugees is important,” Fidan said, adding: “We want the Syrian government to exploit this period of calm, rationally... as an opportunity to solve constitutional problems and achieve peace with the opposition. But we do not see that Damascus is benefiting from this sufficiently.”