Saudis' release of Houthis met with both hope, skepticism
Houthi senior officials welcomed Saudi Arabia's release of detainees, but much remains to be resolved in the bloody four-year battle.
SANAA, Yemen — Houthi militia detainees recently released by Saudi Arabia arrived Nov. 28 in Sanaa to be repatriated, leading to speculation over whether Riyadh took the action from a position of power or one of vulnerability.
In a four-year-long proxy war, a Saudi-led Arab coalition has backed the UN-recognized government of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, while Riyadh's arch-rival in the Middle East, Iran, supports the Houthi rebels.
According to Saudi state news agency SPA, coalition spokesman Col. Turki al-Malki said Nov. 26 that the coalition approved the release of 200 Houthi prisoners and agreed to limited flights out of Sanaa International Airport for people needing health treatment abroad.
On Nov. 28, the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a tweet that it had facilitated the repatriation of 128 detainees to Sanaa. The discrepancy in the number of released prisoners hasn't been resolved yet, and there remain questions about whether the airport is indeed allowing flights to leave.
