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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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Erdogan Vows ‘Radical’ Steps to Eliminate Kurdish YPG Forces in Syria

Erdogan speaks at the eighth Ordinary Provincial Congress of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK). (Turkish presidency)
Erdogan speaks at the eighth Ordinary Provincial Congress of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK). (Turkish presidency)
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Erdogan Vows ‘Radical’ Steps to Eliminate Kurdish YPG Forces in Syria

Erdogan speaks at the eighth Ordinary Provincial Congress of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK). (Turkish presidency)
Erdogan speaks at the eighth Ordinary Provincial Congress of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK). (Turkish presidency)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed on Saturday that his country will soon take “radical” steps to eliminate forces linked to the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), the military backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). in Syria.

Erdogan said Türkiye will show no tolerance for the YPG, which is an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group designated as a terrorist by Ankara.

The YPG occupies a third of Syria, he charged.

Turkish forces have recently expanded their attacks on SDF positions in northeast Syria amid ongoing clashes between the two sides on the frontline of Tishreen dam in the eastern countryside of Aleppo.

During remarks at the eighth Ordinary Provincial Congress of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK) in the southern province of Mersin, Erdogan said his country has provided and will continue to provide all necessary support to the Syrian people.

“Our goal is to eradicate all terrorist organizations in Syria, either smoothly or by force,” he said.

The president stressed that his country is present in Syria and other regions of the world and is following developments closely, based on a strategic vision that seeks to achieve its interest.

Ankara supports New Syrian administration

Erdogan added that by eliminating terrorists in Syria, Türkiye would ensure its security and remove the obstacles that stand in the way of the territorial integrity of Syria, its political unity and internal peace.

“Türkiye cannot feel completely secure as long as there are separatist terrorists armed in Syria,” he declared.

Moreover, Erdogan said Ankara will not pressure any Syrian refugee to return back home.

Ankara is exerting efforts to provide support to the new administration in Damascus, and is therefore “determined not to leave our Syrian brothers alone in rebuilding state institutions and the country,” he remarked.

The Turkish government will provide all necessary facilitations for Syrians wishing to return to their country, he vowed.

Clashes in eastern Aleppo

Meanwhile, Turkish forces escalated their strikes on the strategic Tishreen dam and several areas in Ain Al-Arab (Kobani) in eastern Aleppo.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Saturday that three civilians were killed and 14 others sustained various injuries.

This came following renewed strikes by Turkish drones on an anti-Türkiye protest near Tishreen dam in the Manbij countryside in eastern Aleppo.

Similarly, it noted, Turkish fighter jets attacked the vicinity of Qarh Qouzaq bridge in the Aleppo countryside.

Turkish fighter jets also attacked a school in Al-Jadah village and a house in Deikan village in the Ain Al-Arab countryside, the Observatory said, adding that no casualties were reported.