Saudi unilaterally releases detainees to Yemen amid peace push
Saudi Arabia on Monday released 104 detainees to Yemen, the International Committee of the Red Cross and a Saudi-led coalition said, in a unilateral move that follows simultaneous detainee exchanges between Yemen's warring parties.
The military coalition, which intervened in Yemen in 2015 to reinstall Mansour Hadi, who resigned from the presidency in late 2014, said the additional release was to support dialogue in continuing efforts to end Yemen's conflict, Reuters reported.
A Saudi delegation, which is seeking a permanent ceasefire deal to end military involvement in the war, on Thursday concluded peace talks in Sana’a with the Houthi group, whose top negotiator said talks had made progress and further discussions would be held to iron out remaining differences.
The head of Yemen's Houthi Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, said on Saturday another round of talks would come after the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which starts later this week, SABA reported.
A three-day operation between six cities in Yemen and Saudi Arabia overseen by the ICRC to return nearly 900 detainees held in relation to the conflict ended on Sunday, a significant confidence-building measure amid the peace talks between Saudi envoys and Houthi officials.