Abdul Qader al-Murtada, the head of the Houthi Prisoner Affairs Committee, announced that the Iran-backed movement would release 100 Yemeni government forces inmates on Saturday.
In a statement on Friday, Murtada stated, “The decision was issued by the leader of the Houthi movement, Abdul-Malik Badr Al-Din al-Houthi”.
Yemen’s Houthis last released captives in April 2023, exchanging 250 Houthis for 70 Yemeni government forces.
“Tomorrow we will implement a unilateral humanitarian initiative in which we will release more than 100 prisoners”, Murtada continued.
Yemen’s conflict, which has killed tens of thousands of people and left millions hungry, is commonly interpreted as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The Houthis are the de facto authorities of northern Yemen. The Political Leadership Council, founded under Saudi auspices last year and taking power from Yemen’s president-in-exile, represents the internationally acknowledged government.
A Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015, after the Iran-aligned Houthis deposed the government in Sanaa in 2014.
