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Yemen: Houthis say holding Saudi captives

February 5, 2019 at 1:13 pm

Houthis in Yemen on 4 December 2017 [Abdullah Homran/Anadolu Agency]

Yemen’s Houthis are holding several Saudi captives, according to a negotiator.

“The fate of all Saudi prisoners is connected to the fate of Yemenis held by the Saudi-led coalition whether in Yemen or abroad,” Abdul Qader al-Murtada told Russia Today news network today.

He said senior Saudi military officers were among those held by the Houthi group, without giving any further details.

There was no comment from Saudi Arabia on the Houthi claim.

READ: Saudi pledges to release seven Houthi prisoners after freed Saudi arrives in Riyadh

Last week, a Saudi soldier and seven opposition members were released as part of a prisoner swap between Riyadh and the Houthi group.

Yemen has been wracked by violence since 2014, when the Houthis took control of the capital, Sanaa. The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.

Saudi Arabia and its allies accuse the Houthis of acting as a proxy for Iran.

Tens of thousands of people, including civilians, are believed to have been killed and the UN estimates that around 14 million Yemenis are at risk of famine.