Human rights sources say they are abducted civilians .. Militias announce the release of prisoners
English - Monday 30 September 2019 الساعة 06:39 pm
Aden – NewsYemen.net
The Houthi coup militia said they had released 350 prisoners today, including wounded survivors of Dhamar prison and three Saudis who will be transferred by the ICRC to their families in Saudi Arabia.
In contrast, the International Committee of the Red Cross said that the Houthis released 290 detainees today, not 350, in a unilateral operation, including 42 people who survived the place of detention in Dhamar.
The Commission explained that it facilitated this process with the United Nations at the request of the Houthi militias, among the released are children.
The Houthi militias demanded the United Nations to put pressure on the other party, the legitimacy, to take a similar step, or to count a similar number of its prisoners in any future deal done through the United Nations.
The militias will release abducted civilians from their homes, businesses and roads that were not prisoners of war. In return, the United Nations is required to ensure the release of a similar number of its military prisoners of war by legitimacy and coalition.
The sources added that it was the militias who hindered the release of prisoners by submitting lists of non-existent names, in addition to counting all those kidnapped by civilians and some of them forcibly disappeared as prisoners of war.
The UN envoy, in turn, hastened to welcome the Houthi move and hoped that it would lead to the completion of the prisoner exchange process in accordance with the Swedish agreement. He also welcomed the release of legitimacy and the coalition of children captured while fighting in the ranks of Houthi militias.
