Yemen's Houthi rebels release two US citizens in prisoner swap

Al-Monitor Staff

Oct 14, 2020

Head of the Houthi prisoner exchange committee Abdulkader al-Murtada (C - L) shakes hands with Head of the Yemeni government delegation Hadi Haig (C - L) between ICRC Director for the Near and Middle East Fabrizio Carboni (L) and UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths at the end of a week-long meeting on a Yemen prisoner exchange agreement on September 27, 2020 in Glion, western Switzerland. - Both sides in Yemen's war have agreed to exchange more than 1,000 prisoners, the UN mediator during a week of — Head of the Houthi prisoner exchange committee Abdulkader al-Murtada (C - L) shakes hands with Head of the Yemeni government delegation Hadi Haig (C - L) between ICRC Director for the Near and Middle East Fabrizio Carboni (L) and UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths at the end of a week-long meeting on a Yemen prisoner exchange agreement on Sept. 27, 2020 in Glion, western Switzerland. — FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

The Saudi Arabia-led coalition released more than 240 Houthi prisoners in exchange for the release of two US citizens and the return of the bodily remains of a third American held by the Yemeni rebels.

Humanitarian worker Sandra Loli and businessman Mikael Gidada were released to the United States following negotiations involving Saudi officials. The remains of Bilal Fateen, a dual US-Yemeni citizen who died in Houthi captivity, were also returned.

In a statement today, US national security adviser Robert O’Brien thanked Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud for their assistance in achieving the Americans’ release. O’Brien did not mention the exchange, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal today.

Assurances from the Trump administration led Saudi officials to release the Houthi prisoners, some of whom were stuck in Oman for more than a year after receiving medical treatment under a United Nations peace initiative.

Yemen's Houthi rebels release two US citizens in prisoner swap

Officials from Saudi Arabia and Oman helped negotiate the release

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