Yemen’s Houthi ( ansar allah ) rebels have released six foreigners they were holding hostage, according to airport officials and Houthi officials.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity on Sunday because they were not authorised to speak to reporters, said the six were flying out of the country’s capital, Sana’a, to the Gulf nation of Oman, which negotiated their release.
The hostages, who were detained earlier this year, are three Americans, two Saudis and a British national. Their identities have not been revealed.
The White House welcomed the release of the two Americans. The US secretary of state said in a statement: “We have said that their release has been our focus since we first learned of their detention, and the administration has been in regular contact with their families and representatives.
“I want to express my appreciation to all involved in producing this outcome, especially the government of Oman under the leadership of his majesty Sultan Qaboos, our ambassadors to Yemen and Oman and their teams, and our interagency partners.
“We will continue to work tirelessly to pursue the release of all Americans detained abroad unjustly, including those who remain in the region.”
A statement from the national security council did not identify them or detail the circumstances of their captivity or their release.
But a spokesman for a New Orleans-based logistics company, Trans-oceanic Development, confirmed that its employee Scott Darden, 45, had been freed. Darden was helping to deliver aid throughout the region for Trans-oceanic and relief organisations among its clients, according to spokesman Ken Luce.
Officials from the Houthi media centre refused to explain why they had detained the hostages. At least one of them is a journalist, who they said entered the country illegally and worked without notifying the authorities.
A Houthi delegation left with the hostages to go to Oman, where they will resume talks with the UN envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.
A Houthi statement confirmed the visit of the delegation to Oman, accompanied by another from the General People’s Congress party of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, said Aref al-Zouka, the party’s secretary-general.
Meanwhile, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdel Salam held a press conference at the airport and refused to confirm the hostages’ release. “If we were to release anyone, it would be in exchange for the release of Houthis,” he said, without specifying which authorities he was addressing.
A Foreign and Commonwealth office spokeswoman said: “British embassy Oman staff met the flight from Yemen and are providing consular assistance. We are working closely with the Omani authorities.” Beyond confirming that a British national has travelled to Oman from Yemen, she declined to comment on the circumstances.
The conflicting information could not immediately be reconciled.
The US embassy in Muscat was unable to immediately confirm the hostages’ release. Omani officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
In June, American freelance journalist Casey Coombs, who was held by the rebels, was set free. Following his release, which Oman mediated, state department spokeswoman Marie Harf said they were working to win the release of several Americans detained in Yemen.
In August, the United Arab Emirates helped free British petroleum engineer Robert Douglas Semple, who had been held for 18 months after being kidnapped by al-Qaida in Yemen, which has expanded its reach in the country amid the fighting between Houthis and their opponents.
Yemen has been torn apart by a ferocious war pitting the Houthis and forces fighting for Saleh against fighters loyal to exiled president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, as well as southern separatists, local militias and Sunni extremists. The conflict escalated in March as a Saudi-led, US-backed coalition launched airstrikes against the Houthis.
Also on Sunday, Saudi brigadier general Ahmed al-Asiri told Asharq Al-Awsat, a daily newspaper owned by King Salman’s family, that coalition forces never targeted the home of Oman’s ambassador in Sana’a.
The official Oman news agency reported that Oman summoned Saudi Arabia’s ambassador on Saturday to hand him a letter protesting against what it called a coalition airstrike on the residence. The sultanate demanded an explanation for the attack and warned that a continuation of the war “might pose a threat to the region’s stability”.
Saudi interior ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki on Sunday announced the death of two Saudi soldiers patrolling the south-west region of Najran, which borders Yemen, following an exchange of fire with Houthi fighters. Southern Saudi Arabia has been targeted by Houthis since airstrikes against them began in March.
Meanwhile in the western Yemeni province of Ibb, the Saudi-led coalition’s airstrikes against a Houthi stronghold and prison facility killed 11 and wounded more than 50 rebels and civilians, said security officials and witnesses.
Sunday’s airstrikes hit a security directorate where the rebels held more than 300 prisoners underground, said the officials, who remain neutral in the conflict that has splintered the country’s security forces.
Many managed to escape, but dozens remain buried under the rubble, they added. Many of the confirmed dead, witnesses said, were onlookers who had gathered around the building following the first strike, only to be hit by the second.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity on Sunday because they were not authorised to speak to reporters, said the six were flying out of the country’s capital, Sana’a, to the Gulf nation of Oman, which negotiated their release.
The hostages, who were detained earlier this year, are three Americans, two Saudis and a British national. Their identities have not been revealed.
The White House welcomed the release of the two Americans. The US secretary of state said in a statement: “We have said that their release has been our focus since we first learned of their detention, and the administration has been in regular contact with their families and representatives.
“I want to express my appreciation to all involved in producing this outcome, especially the government of Oman under the leadership of his majesty Sultan Qaboos, our ambassadors to Yemen and Oman and their teams, and our interagency partners.
“We will continue to work tirelessly to pursue the release of all Americans detained abroad unjustly, including those who remain in the region.”
A statement from the national security council did not identify them or detail the circumstances of their captivity or their release.
But a spokesman for a New Orleans-based logistics company, Trans-oceanic Development, confirmed that its employee Scott Darden, 45, had been freed. Darden was helping to deliver aid throughout the region for Trans-oceanic and relief organisations among its clients, according to spokesman Ken Luce.
Officials from the Houthi media centre refused to explain why they had detained the hostages. At least one of them is a journalist, who they said entered the country illegally and worked without notifying the authorities.
A Houthi delegation left with the hostages to go to Oman, where they will resume talks with the UN envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.
A Houthi statement confirmed the visit of the delegation to Oman, accompanied by another from the General People’s Congress party of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, said Aref al-Zouka, the party’s secretary-general.
Meanwhile, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdel Salam held a press conference at the airport and refused to confirm the hostages’ release. “If we were to release anyone, it would be in exchange for the release of Houthis,” he said, without specifying which authorities he was addressing.
A Foreign and Commonwealth office spokeswoman said: “British embassy Oman staff met the flight from Yemen and are providing consular assistance. We are working closely with the Omani authorities.” Beyond confirming that a British national has travelled to Oman from Yemen, she declined to comment on the circumstances.
The conflicting information could not immediately be reconciled.
The US embassy in Muscat was unable to immediately confirm the hostages’ release. Omani officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
In June, American freelance journalist Casey Coombs, who was held by the rebels, was set free. Following his release, which Oman mediated, state department spokeswoman Marie Harf said they were working to win the release of several Americans detained in Yemen.
In August, the United Arab Emirates helped free British petroleum engineer Robert Douglas Semple, who had been held for 18 months after being kidnapped by al-Qaida in Yemen, which has expanded its reach in the country amid the fighting between Houthis and their opponents.
Yemen has been torn apart by a ferocious war pitting the Houthis and forces fighting for Saleh against fighters loyal to exiled president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, as well as southern separatists, local militias and Sunni extremists. The conflict escalated in March as a Saudi-led, US-backed coalition launched airstrikes against the Houthis.
Also on Sunday, Saudi brigadier general Ahmed al-Asiri told Asharq Al-Awsat, a daily newspaper owned by King Salman’s family, that coalition forces never targeted the home of Oman’s ambassador in Sana’a.
The official Oman news agency reported that Oman summoned Saudi Arabia’s ambassador on Saturday to hand him a letter protesting against what it called a coalition airstrike on the residence. The sultanate demanded an explanation for the attack and warned that a continuation of the war “might pose a threat to the region’s stability”.
Saudi interior ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki on Sunday announced the death of two Saudi soldiers patrolling the south-west region of Najran, which borders Yemen, following an exchange of fire with Houthi fighters. Southern Saudi Arabia has been targeted by Houthis since airstrikes against them began in March.
Meanwhile in the western Yemeni province of Ibb, the Saudi-led coalition’s airstrikes against a Houthi stronghold and prison facility killed 11 and wounded more than 50 rebels and civilians, said security officials and witnesses.
Sunday’s airstrikes hit a security directorate where the rebels held more than 300 prisoners underground, said the officials, who remain neutral in the conflict that has splintered the country’s security forces.
Many managed to escape, but dozens remain buried under the rubble, they added. Many of the confirmed dead, witnesses said, were onlookers who had gathered around the building following the first strike, only to be hit by the second.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment