Houthis withdraw from another Saudi border area

Houthi fighters in Yemen say they have withdrawn from an area near the Saudi border a day after they released a captive Saudi soldier as a good-will gesture to end a six-month war in north Yemen.

“We withdrew today from the Manazla front in the Malahidh region, near the Saudi border, and more precisely from Jebel Dahr Homar,” Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdel Salam told AFP on Tuesday.

According to the spokesman, 30 road blocks have been removed along this road, allowing the Yemeni army to reach the border and deploy along it.

The fighters offered an initiative to end the war when they announced a “withdrawal from Saudi territory and ending the war,” last month.

Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi called on both Sana’a and Riyadh to end the conflict, which has so far claimed the lives of countless civilians and displaced thousands of others in the beleaguered northern villages.

Saudi Arabia, however, has continued its attacks on the region and has so far refused to release the Houthi prisoners it is holding in exchange for five Saudi soldiers–one of whom was released on Monday.

Meanwhile, Yemen insists that as well as releasing all prisoners and opening roads in the north, the fighters have to withdraw from government buildings, return the arms seized from security forces, hand over captured army posts and pledge not to attack Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh joined Yemen’s offensive against the Houthis after accusing the Hezbollahi fighters of killing a Saudi border guard and occupying two border villages on November 3. Saudi jets began bombing Yemen’s northern villages the following day.