The UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, backed Thursday's repatriation. His office tweeted that he thanked the Saudis for releasing the detainees and for "the opening of Sanaa airport for mercy flights that would allow Yemenis to receive much-needed medical treatment abroad". It remains unclear if the 128 repatriated prisoners are among the 200 Houthi rebels the Saudis announced would be released on Tuesday. Houthi rebels unilaterally released 290 detainees in September. A prisoner swap was part of a UN agreement brokered between warring parties in Sweden last December. Kedir Awol Omar, ICRC Saudi Arabia's head of mission, said he hoped the prisoner releases by the Houthis and the Saudis "will create a positive dynamic and will allow more detainees to be reunited with their families".Today we are repatriating 128 #detainees from #KSA to #Sanaa. We welcome this initiative and we are pleased to see humanitarian considerations taken into account for the sake of the families waiting for their loved ones to return home.
— ICRC Yemen (@ICRC_ye) November 28, 2019
Yemeni detainees hug relatives after being released by Houthis in Sanaa
Fighting in Yemen has caused the world's worst humanitarian crisis. About four-fifths of the population - 24 million people - are in need of humanitarian assistance or protection, including 10 million who rely on food aid to survive. But recent reports suggest peace efforts are gathering pace. A senior Saudi official told Reuters earlier this month that the country had had an "open channel" with the Houthis since 2016. "We are continuing these communications to support peace in Yemen," he said.DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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