Houthi fighters release six foreign hostages

Yemen’s Ansarullah Houthi fighters have released six foreign captives, including two Americans, three Saudis and a British citizen.

The hostages, held for months by the Yemeni fighters, were released on Sunday and later flown from the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, to neighboring Oman.

Oman’s Foreign Ministry, which helped negotiate their release, said in a statement that the hostages were released following mediation efforts by the country’s diplomats acting on behalf of Oman’s ruler Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

The two Americans were identified as Scott Darden, an employee of a logistics company, and security consultant Sam Farran.

They were arrested along with the British national in the early days of Saudi Arabia’s military aggression against Yemen in late March. Their release appears to be a goodwill gesture by the Ansarullah ahead of UN-brokered peace talks later this week.

Both the US and the UK have been supporting the Saudi onslaught against Yemen by supplying arms to the aggressors and providing them with intelligence and logistical support.

Saudi Arabia launched its military aggression against Yemen on March 26 – without a United Nations mandate – in a bid to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and restore power to fugitive former Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.

Riyadh has been targeting Yemeni infrastructure and residential areas in its strikes, in violation of international conventions.

The conflict has reportedly left more than 5,300 people dead and thousands of others wounded.