2 US citizens released by Iran-backed militants in Yemen
4 years, 2 months ago

2 US citizens released by Iran-backed militants in Yemen

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Two Americans and the remains of a third held captive by Iranian-backed militants in Yemen were released on Wednesday in exchange for the return of about 250 of the Houthi rebels from Oman according to the White House and sources in the region. It said 250 “Yemeni brothers” who received treatment in Oman have been returned to Yemen's capital, Sanaa, on two flights as part of the exchange. “The United States welcomes the release today of U.S. citizens Sandra Loli and Mikael Gidada from Houthi custody in Yemen,” national security adviser Robert O'Brien said in a statement. The U.N. had said in September that the two warring sides agreed to exchange 1,081 conflict-related prisoners, including Saudi and Sudanese troops fighting on the side of the Saudi-led coalition.

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History of this topic

What Threat Do Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Pose to Israel
3 months, 3 weeks ago

What Threat Do Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Pose to Israel

Bloomberg  

Soon after war broke out in October between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist group designated a terrorist organization by the US and European Union, the Houthi rebels who control northwestern Yemen joined in. The Houthis, who like Hamas are hostile to Israel and backed by Iran, began disrupting traffic in the Red Sea by attacking ships there, provoking a military …

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim they shot down another US MQ-9 drone
4 months ago

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim they shot down another US MQ-9 drone

Associated Press  

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed early Sunday they shot down another American-made MQ-9 drone flying over the country, marking potentially the latest downing of the multimillion-dollar surveillance aircraft. However, the Houthis have repeatedly downed General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper drones in the years since they seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014. He said the Houthis shot down …

Yemen’s Houthi rebels could free a rival political leader held incommunicado since 2015, UN says
6 months ago

Yemen’s Houthi rebels could free a rival political leader held incommunicado since 2015, UN says

Associated Press  

UNITED NATIONS — Yemen’s Houthi rebels could free a political leader with ties to the internationally recognized government who has been detained for nearly a decade, under a preliminary prisoner swap deal announced by the United Nations on Monday. Mohamed Qahtan is the leader of the Sunni Islamist Islah party, which is aligned with the Saudi Arabia-backed government, and he …

Leaders of UN and aid groups urge immediate release of 17 staffers being held by Yemen’s rebels
6 months, 4 weeks ago

Leaders of UN and aid groups urge immediate release of 17 staffers being held by Yemen’s rebels

Associated Press  

UNITED NATIONS — The heads of six U.N. agencies and three international humanitarian organizations issued a joint appeal Thursday to Yemen’s Houthi rebels for the immediate release of 17 members of their staff who were recently detained along with many others also being held by the Iranian-backed group. Samantha Power, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, strongly condemned …

Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Detain at Least 9 UN Staffers and Others in Sudden Crackdown, Officials Say
7 months ago

Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Detain at Least 9 UN Staffers and Others in Sudden Crackdown, Officials Say

Deccan Chronicle  

Dubai : At least nine Yemeni employees of United Nations agencies have been detained by Yemen's Houthi rebels under unclear circumstances, authorities said Friday, as the rebels face increasing financial pressure and airstrikes from a US-led coalition. The detentions come as the Houthis, who seized Yemen's capital nearly a decade ago and have been fighting a Saudi-led coalition since shortly …

Yemen's Houthi rebels detain at least 11 UN staffers, officials say
7 months ago

Yemen's Houthi rebels detain at least 11 UN staffers, officials say

Associated Press  

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Eleven Yemeni employees of United Nations agencies have been detained by Yemen’s Houthi rebels under unclear circumstances, authorities said Friday, as the rebels face increasing financial pressure and airstrikes from a U.S.-led coalition. AP AUDIO: Yemen’s Houthi rebels detain at least 9 UN staffers and others in sudden crackdown, officials say AP correspondent Charles de …

Yemen's Houthis unilaterally release 113 detainees: ICRC
7 months, 2 weeks ago

Yemen's Houthis unilaterally release 113 detainees: ICRC

China Daily  

Detainees walk to attend a press conference on their release by the Houthi group in Sanaa, Yemen, May 26, 2024. SANAA - Yemen's Houthi group unilaterally released 113 detainees in the Houthi-held Yemeni capital Sanaa on Sunday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said. "We are pleased to see that humanitarian considerations are being prioritized, particularly for the families …

Yemen’s Houthis freed over 100 war prisoners, the Red Cross says
7 months, 2 weeks ago

Yemen’s Houthis freed over 100 war prisoners, the Red Cross says

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ …

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim 2 attacks in Gulf of Aden as Iran official renews nuclear bomb threats
8 months ago

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim 2 attacks in Gulf of Aden as Iran official renews nuclear bomb threats

Associated Press  

JERUSALEM — Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Thursday claimed responsibility for two missile attacks in the Gulf of Aden on two Panama-flagged container ships that caused no damage. Meanwhile Thursday, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency carried the comments made by Kharrazi, a former foreign minister under reformist President Mohammad Khatami. Speaking to the Al Jazeera news network in an interview that …

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim downing US Reaper drone, release footage showing wreckage of aircraft
8 months, 2 weeks ago

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim downing US Reaper drone, release footage showing wreckage of aircraft

Associated Press  

JERUSALEM — Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Saturday claimed shooting down another of the U.S. military’s MQ-9 Reaper drones, airing footage of parts that corresponded to known pieces of the unmanned aircraft. U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Bryon J. McGarry, a Defense Department spokesperson, acknowledged to The Associated Press on Saturday that “a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 drone crashed in Yemen.” …

Yemen’s Houthis say 17 rebels killed in US-led attacks
11 months ago

Yemen’s Houthis say 17 rebels killed in US-led attacks

Al Jazeera  

Mourners gathering at public funerals in Sanaa say they remain resolute in their position on Israel’s war on Gaza. Seventeen Houthi fighters have been killed in United States and British attacks, the Yemeni rebel group has said through its official media, following public funerals in the capital Sanaa. On Tuesday, the Houthis said they had targeted US and British ships …

Yemen’s Houthi rebels say they attacked a US warship without evidence. An American official rejects the claim
11 months, 1 week ago

Yemen’s Houthi rebels say they attacked a US warship without evidence. An American official rejects the claim

Associated Press  

JERUSALEM — Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they attacked a U.S. Navy mobile base at sea Monday without offering evidence, something immediately rejected by an American defense official. The Puller, which serves as a floating landing base, had been earlier stationed in the Arabian Sea as part of American efforts to curtail Houthi attacks on commercial shipping through the Red Sea …

US announces fresh sanctions on Houthi rebels, relists group as terrorist organisation in response to Red Sea attacks
11 months, 3 weeks ago

US announces fresh sanctions on Houthi rebels, relists group as terrorist organisation in response to Red Sea attacks

ABC  

The United States has put Yemen's Houthi rebels back on its list of specially designated global terrorists while announcing new financial sanctions on top of American military strikes, in the country's latest attempt to stop the militant group's attacks on global shipping. Key points: The US says fresh sanctions on Houthi rebels will minimise harm to Yemen's population, which is …

U.S. mulls designating Yemen's Houthis a terrorist organization
1 year, 1 month ago

U.S. mulls designating Yemen's Houthis a terrorist organization

The Hindu  

The United States said on Tuesday it was considering designating Yemen's Houthi rebels a terrorist organization after their seizure of an Israel-linked cargo vessel in the Red Sea. The capture on Sunday of the Galaxy Leader and its 25 international crew came days after the Iran-backed Houthis threatened to target Israeli shipping over the Israel-Hamas war. The Houthis said the …

UN: 5 staff members kidnapped in Yemen last year released
1 year, 5 months ago

UN: 5 staff members kidnapped in Yemen last year released

Al Jazeera  

All ‘five colleagues’ who were kidnapped 18 months ago are in good health, spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres says. The United Nations says five staff members who were kidnapped in Yemen 18 months ago have walked free. In a brief statement on Friday, Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said all “available information suggests that all …

Explained | What are the latest developments in Yemen?
1 year, 8 months ago

Explained | What are the latest developments in Yemen?

The Hindu  

The story so far: Hundreds of prisoners captured during the war in Yemen were reunited with their families between April 14 to 16 amid diplomatic efforts to halt the conflict, the Associated Press reported. The warring parties in control of parts of Yemen had signed the Stockholm Agreement in December 2018 whereby they had committed to freeing conflict-related detainees. In …

Saudi-led coalition releases additional Yemen war prisoners
1 year, 8 months ago

Saudi-led coalition releases additional Yemen war prisoners

Associated Press  

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A Saudi-led military coalition on Monday freed 104 more prisoners captured in Yemen’s war, a unilateral release that followed an organized prisoner swap amid renewed diplomatic efforts to halt the conflict. The International Committee of the Red Cross said it flew two flights carrying a total of 96 released detainees from Saudi Arabia’s Abha International …

Yemen rebels, Saudi coalition begin United Nations-brokered prisoner swap
1 year, 8 months ago

Yemen rebels, Saudi coalition begin United Nations-brokered prisoner swap

The Hindu  

An exchange of more than 800 prisoners from Yemen's war held by the Houthi rebels and the Saudi-led coalition battling them began on April 14, the International Committee for the Red Cross said. The three-day exchange will see flights transport prisoners between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, long held by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, said Majed Fadail, a deputy …

Yemen: Saudis free 13 Houthis as Omani officials visit Sanaa
1 year, 9 months ago

Yemen: Saudis free 13 Houthis as Omani officials visit Sanaa

Associated Press  

CAIRO — Saudi Arabia on Saturday released over a dozen war prisoners to their rivals, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, a Houthi official said. Abdul-Qader el-Murtaza, a Houthi official in charge of prisoner exchange talks in Yemen’s conflict, said 13 Houthi prisoners arrived Saturday in the capital, Sanaa. Yemen’s conflict began in 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much …

Yemen rebels restrict humanitarian flights arriving in Sanaa
1 year, 9 months ago

Yemen rebels restrict humanitarian flights arriving in Sanaa

Associated Press  

CAIRO — The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they were imposing severe restrictions starting Saturday on U.N. and other humanitarian flights arriving in the capital, Sanaa. Waleed al-Abarah, a spokesman for Yemen’s Human Rights Ministry in Aden, said the Houthi decision amounts to a “war crime,” accusing the rebels of weaponizing humanitarian activities to achieve political gains. The Sanaa …

US Navy: 70 tons of missile fuel from Iran to Yemen seized
2 years, 1 month ago

US Navy: 70 tons of missile fuel from Iran to Yemen seized

Associated Press  

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The U.S. Navy said Tuesday it found 70 tons of a missile fuel component hidden among bags of fertilizer aboard a ship bound to Yemen from Iran, the first-such seizure in that country’s yearslong war as a cease-fire there has broken down. The Navy said the amount of ammonium perchlorate discovered could fuel more than …

Officials: 3 civilians killed in clashes in southern Yemen
2 years, 5 months ago

Officials: 3 civilians killed in clashes in southern Yemen

Associated Press  

SANAA, Yemen — Infighting among Yemen’s pro-government forces in a southern province killed at least three civilians, military and medical officials said Monday. Clashes erupted late Sunday in Ataq, the capital of Shabwa province, between the United Arab Emirates-backed Giants Brigades and Shabwa Defense Forces on one side and the paramilitary police known as Special Security Forces on the other. …

US calls on Yemen’s Houthis to release its local embassy staff
2 years, 7 months ago

US calls on Yemen’s Houthis to release its local embassy staff

Al Jazeera  

US calls on Yemeni rebels to ‘end injustice’ and free current and former employees of the US embassy in Sanaa. The United States has renewed its call for Yemen’s Houthis to release detained US embassy staff after the death of a retired employee of the US Agency for International Development who was in the rebels’ custody. The US embassy in …

Saudi-led coalition sends dozens of freed prisoners to Yemen
2 years, 8 months ago

Saudi-led coalition sends dozens of freed prisoners to Yemen

Al Jazeera  

Coalition says 108 detainees were flown on Friday from Saudi Arabia to the southern Yemeni city of Aden. The Saudi-led coalition engaged in Yemen said has said it transported more than 100 freed prisoners to Yemen in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross in a humanitarian initiative to support a United Nations-brokered truce. The coalition said last …

Yemen: Saudi Arabia to release 163 Houthi prisoners
2 years, 8 months ago

Yemen: Saudi Arabia to release 163 Houthi prisoners

Al Jazeera  

Saudi officials say the move is aimed at solidifying a two-month truce that went into effect in early April. The Saudi Arabian-led coalition fighting in Yemen has said it would release 163 prisoners from Yemen’s Houthi rebel group who fought against the kingdom, as part of a humanitarian initiative. The coalition had already begun taking measures to release the prisoners …

UN: Yemen’s Houthi rebels agree to stop using child soldiers
2 years, 8 months ago

UN: Yemen’s Houthi rebels agree to stop using child soldiers

Al Jazeera  

The armed group signed an ‘action plan’ to end the recruitment or use of children in armed conflict, the UN says. Yemen’s Houthi rebels have agreed to rid their ranks of child soldiers, who have fought by the thousands during the country’s seven years of civil war, the United Nations has said. The Houthis signed what the UN described on …

UN: Yemen’s Houthi rebels agree to stop using child soldiers
2 years, 8 months ago

UN: Yemen’s Houthi rebels agree to stop using child soldiers

Associated Press  

UNITED NATIONS — Yemen’s Houthi rebels have agreed to rid their ranks of child soldiers, who have fought by the thousands during the country’s seven years of civil war, the United Nations said Monday. The Houthis signed what the U.N. described as an “action plan” to end and prevent recruiting or using children in armed conflict, killing or maiming children …

EXPLAINED: Who Are Houthi Rebels? The Yemen Group Behind UAE Drone Attacks That Killed 2 Indians
2 years, 11 months ago

EXPLAINED: Who Are Houthi Rebels? The Yemen Group Behind UAE Drone Attacks That Killed 2 Indians

ABP News  

New Delhi: Two Indian nationals and one person from Pakistan were killed in Monday’s terror attacks in the United Arab Emirates that also left at least six injured, including two Indians. In 2014-15, Houthi rebels overthrew Saleh’s successor Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi’s government and captured capital Sana’a, with the help of the former president. When the Houthi rebels sided with Saleh …

Nearly 200 dead as fighting surges near Yemen's Marib: sources
3 years ago

Nearly 200 dead as fighting surges near Yemen's Marib: sources

The Hindu  

About 200 fighters have been killed in fresh clashes near the strategic Yemeni city of Marib, military and medical sources said Tuesday, as the seven-year war witnesses a surge in violence. More than 125 Houthi rebels were killed in air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition and clashes with pro-government forces in Shabwa and Al-Bayda provinces, bordering Marib, medical sources told …

Houthis have fired 430 missiles, 851 drones at Saudi Arabia since 2015- Saudi-led coalition
3 years ago

Houthis have fired 430 missiles, 851 drones at Saudi Arabia since 2015- Saudi-led coalition

The Hindu  

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said on December 26 the Iran-aligned Houthi group had fired 430 ballistic missiles and 851 armed drones at Saudi Arabia since the war started in 2015, killing 59 Saudi civilians. The spokesman of the Saudi alliance, General Turki al-Malki, said the Iran-aligned movement had been using Sanaa airport as a base to launch attacks …

Saudi-led coalition hits Yemen rebel camp in capital Sanaa
3 years ago

Saudi-led coalition hits Yemen rebel camp in capital Sanaa

Al Jazeera  

Coalition says the attack was a response to ‘an attempt to transfer weapons’ by the Yemeni rebel group. The coalition, which backs Yemen’s internationally recognised government against the Houthis in the civil war, said it destroyed weapons storehouses in the rebel-held capital, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. The Saudi-led coalition said on Sunday the Houthi group had fired …

Several killed in Saudi Arabia, Yemen in coalition, rebel attacks
3 years ago

Several killed in Saudi Arabia, Yemen in coalition, rebel attacks

Al Jazeera  

Two killed in the Saudi city of Jizan while three die in a coalition air raid in Yemen’s Ajama. Three people have been killed in Yemen in an air raid by a Riyadh-led coalition while two were killed in Saudi Arabia in a projectile attack blamed on Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Since 2014, Yemen has been racked by a civil war …

Iran-backed militants storm US embassy in Yemen and seize hostages
3 years, 1 month ago

Iran-backed militants storm US embassy in Yemen and seize hostages

Daily Mail  

The US embassy compound in Yemen has been overrun by Iran-backed Houthi rebels who also took at least 25 Yemeni employees there hostage, the State Department confirmed on Thursday. 'We are concerned that Yemeni staff of the U.S. Embassy in Sana’a continue to be detained without explanation and we call for their immediate release. The embassy has been shut since …

US calls on Yemen’s Houthis to release local embassy staff
3 years, 2 months ago

US calls on Yemen’s Houthis to release local embassy staff

Al Jazeera  

Most detainees have been released but Yemeni rebels continue to hold unspecified number of US embassy employees in Sanaa, US official says. The United States has called on Yemen’s Houthi rebels to release an unspecified number of detained Yemenis who work for the US embassy in the capital, Sanaa. “We are concerned that Yemeni staff of the US Embassy in …

‘Houthi missile attack’ kills at least 17 in Yemen’s Marib
3 years, 7 months ago

‘Houthi missile attack’ kills at least 17 in Yemen’s Marib

Al Jazeera  

Government blames Houthis for attack on petrol station as the group says it only struck a military camp and welcomes investigation into civilian casualties. At least 17 people, including a five-year-old girl, have been killed after a ballistic missile targeted the Yemeni city of Marib in an attack the government blamed on the Houthi rebels. Yemen has been embroiled in …

US slams Iran-backed Yemen rebels for snubbing UN envoy
3 years, 8 months ago

US slams Iran-backed Yemen rebels for snubbing UN envoy

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration lashed out at Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Friday for refusing to meet with a senior U.N. official to discuss ending the country’s devastating conflict and speeding humanitarian relief to suffering civilians. It said the Houthis should immediately engage with Griffiths to consider the peace plan, calling it “a fair deal on the table that …

US allows transactions with Houthis as ‘terrorist’ label reviewed
3 years, 11 months ago

US allows transactions with Houthis as ‘terrorist’ label reviewed

Al Jazeera  

Aid groups warn the Trump administration’s designation of Yemeni rebels could trigger famine in the war-torn country. The United States has temporarily stayed a ban on transactions involving Yemen’s Houthi movement as it reviews a decision by former President Donald Trump’s administration to designate the Iran-aligned group as a “foreign terrorist organisation”. The Biden administration has promised to review the …

Houthis | Yemen’s rebels and revivalists
3 years, 11 months ago

Houthis | Yemen’s rebels and revivalists

The Hindu  

After the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, when anti-Americanism was at its peak in the Muslim world, several Islamist organisations had tried to mobilise supporters riding the public sentiments. Not many had foreseen back then that this tiny group of tribesmen from the Marran Mountains of the northern province Sa’dah would grow into the most powerful rebel war machine …

Americans Trapped In Yemen Amid War And Rising COVID-19 Cases Plead For Help
4 years, 5 months ago

Americans Trapped In Yemen Amid War And Rising COVID-19 Cases Plead For Help

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Advocates say that thousands of U.S. citizens and permanent residents are trapped in Yemen, where the coronavirus has been particularly catastrophic due to an already-collapsed health care system and what’s been dubbed the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. “We continue to closely monitor conditions in Yemen – just as we’re doing in every country around the …

128 Houthi prisoners detained in Saudi Arabia released, flown to Yemen’s Sanna in efforts to end five-year conflict
5 years, 1 month ago

128 Houthi prisoners detained in Saudi Arabia released, flown to Yemen’s Sanna in efforts to end five-year conflict

Firstpost  

Prisoners arrived on three ICRC planes and were met inside the airport by rebel commanders and some family members Sanaa: Some 128 Houthi rebels detained in Saudi Arabia were flown to the Yemeni city of Sanaa and released on Thursday, as efforts to end the five-year conflict gain momentum. The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said earlier this week that …

Saudi-led airstrikes on Yemen rebel-run prison kill over 100
5 years, 4 months ago

Saudi-led airstrikes on Yemen rebel-run prison kill over 100

Associated Press  

SANAA, Yemen — Yemeni medics said on Monday they pulled dozens of bodies from the rubble of a Houthi rebel-run detention center that was hit a day earlier by Saudi-led coalition airstrikes, killing over 100 people and wounding dozens. By late Monday, Yemen’s Red Crescent said 88 bodies had been pulled from the ruins of the detention center in southwestern …

Yemen conflict: Who controls what
5 years, 9 months ago

Yemen conflict: Who controls what

Al Jazeera  

More than four years after seizing the capital, the Houthis have consolidated their grip over large parts of Yemen. Yemen has been torn apart by conflict since late 2014, when Houthi rebels, allied with troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, captured much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa. A coalition assembled by Saudi Arabia launched an air …

UN jet evacuates 50 wounded Houthi rebels to Oman
6 years, 1 month ago

UN jet evacuates 50 wounded Houthi rebels to Oman

Al Jazeera  

Saudi-UAE coalition says arrangement requested by UN envoy Griffiths as goodwill gesture before Sweden peace talks. The announcement on Monday came after Martin Griffiths, the UN envoy to Yemen, requested this arrangement as a goodwill gesture in the run-up to planned peace talks in Sweden. {articleGUID} “A UN chartered plane will arrive at Sanaa international airport Monday to evacuate 50 …

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