The Houthi rebels in Yemen released 153 war detainees through unilateral action on Saturday January 25, 2025 based on International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reports. All parties view this action as a conciliatory step that could help resolve Yemen’s ongoing decade-long conflict even though it happened while the Houthis detained seven employees of the United Nations.
The Houthis launched their attack in 2014 by seizing Sanaa and have reduced Yemen to its current state with 150,000 fatalities and an internationally recognized humanitarian crisis. During recent years Yemen maintained a significant ceasefire yet Houthi militancy has received worldwide condemnation for their sea attacks during the Israeli-Hamas conflict.
ICRC described the released prisoners as a “positive step” in its commitment torevive negotiations. According to Christine Cipolla who leads the ICRC’s Yemen division the initiative created the groundwork for additional reconciliation measures. The official Houthi spokesperson Abdul Qader al-Murtada characterized the freed prisoners as individuals who qualified as “humanitarian cases” because they were sick, wounded and elderly to show his organization had good intentions when it released them.
Two recent steps by the Houthi include reducing maritime attacks in the Red Sea and releasing captured ship personnel last November. The international community strongly condemned the Houthi group after they took UN staff into detention. UN Secretary-General António Guterres ordered workers’ urgent liberation through his statement to protect vital Yemen aid programs.
Fractured parties in Yemen might consider conducting peace talks to end the war because their economy is collapsing under increasing international pressure and internal problems. Strains continue to escalate between the U.S. and political groups because it is suspected the U.S. plans to return the Houthis to its list of terrorist organizations which would complicate all current peace attraction initiatives.
