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Yemen's Houthi group has released 600 people detained in connection with the country's conflict under a unilateral amnesty initiative in the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Houthi officials announced.
The ICRC said its representatives conducted private interviews with each detainee before their release and provided logistical assistance to ensure their safe and dignified return home.
Medical teams also assessed the health of those released, with additional assistance to be arranged if needed.
The ICRC said the release was initiated by the Houthis' National Committee for Prisoners' Affairs and was not part of the Stockholm Agreement, which established a framework for prisoner exchanges between Yemen's warring parties.
The organization clarified that it had no role in determining the identities or number of detainees selected for release.
It also reaffirmed its readiness to serve as a neutral intermediary in future operations involving the release, transfer or repatriation of prisoners and detainees if requested by the parties.
Abdulkadir al-Murtada, head of the Houthis' National Committee for Prisoners' Affairs, confirmed the release of 600 detainees in remarks to the group's Al-Masirah television channel.
Murtada said the latest release brought the total number of prisoners freed through unilateral amnesty initiatives since the beginning of Yemen's war to 2,612.
The Yemeni government has not yet commented on the announcement.
Yemen's government and the Houthis reached an agreement on Dec. 13, 2018, following talks in Stockholm, Sweden, that included provisions for the mutual exchange of prisoners and detainees.
At the time, the two sides were reported to be holding more than 15,000 prisoners and detainees.
The ICRC previously announced on Oct. 17 that the Houthis had released 159 people in Sanaa.
Yemen's civil war began after the Houthis seized control of Sanaa and several provinces in September 2014. A Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in March 2015 to support the Yemeni government.
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