Yemen army releases 9 rebels in prisoner swap: Houthis

Mohamed al-Samei
SANAA: Yemen’s Houthi rebel group on Wednesday announced the release of nine of their fighters captured earlier by pro-government forces in a prisoner exchange.
Yemen’s Houthi-run SABA news agency reported that the nine captured fighters had been freed in a prisoner swap carried out in the eastern Maarib province.
“The exchange was conducted with armed groups in Maarib,” SABA reported, referring to forces loyal to Yemen’s internationally-recognized government.
The news agency did not say, however, what the Houthis had given up in return for the nine captured fighters.
The Aden-based government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who for the last several months has been based in Saudi Arabia, has yet to comment on the Houthis’ claims.
Impoverished Yemen has been wracked by conflict since 2014, when the Houthis overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa, forcing Hadi’s Saudi-backed government to relocate to the coastal city of Aden.
The conflict escalated one year later when a Saudi-led coalition launched a wide-ranging military campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains in Yemen. (AA)