The Saudi-led Arab military coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced Friday it has freed a batch of rebel captives, part of what it claims as attempts to end the seven-year war.

The coalition said last week that it will free 163 inmates.

The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) announced on Twitter early Friday evening that all 163 had been flown to Yemen.
It had earlier stated that the operation would entail “three stages of plane transfer of inmates” to Yemen’s capital Sanaa and the southern port city of Aden.

According to an AFP report, the International Committee of the Red Cross is “facilitating the passage of more than 100 Yemeni former prisoners from Saudi Arabia to Yemen.”

Basheer Omar, the spokesperson, stated that three ICRC planes will depart from the Saudi city of Abha for Aden.

According to an ICRC statement, 117 Yemeni captives were returned on Friday, while others were released in a previous operation in which the ICRC did not take part.

“We are delighted to see that humanitarian concerns are being prioritised for the benefit of the families who are awaiting the return of their loved ones,” said Katharina Ritz, head of the ICRC team in Yemen.

“It is critical to ease the suffering of the numerous Yemenis who have endured more than seven years of strife. This includes detainees and their relatives”

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