Daijiworld Media Network - Sanaa
Sanaa, Sep 13: Yemen’s Houthi group has freed 210 of its members who were being held by government forces after seizing a prison during its rapid advance along the country’s Red Sea coast, a Houthi military official told Xinhua on Sunday.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Houthi forces stormed the government-run prison after capturing the strategic Red Sea port city of Mocha in southwestern Taiz province on Thursday.
“Before retreating, the mercenary forces gathered all 210 prisoners in a large hall and locked them inside,” the official said, referring to government forces. “Our fighters broke into the facility and freed them.”
Houthi-run al-Masirah TV confirmed that the 210 prisoners had arrived in Sanaa on Saturday.
The Yemeni government had not immediately commented on the release.
In May, the two sides agreed during UN-sponsored talks in Jordan to exchange around 1,750 detainees in what would be the largest such deal since the conflict began. However, the agreement has yet to be implemented.
The release came amid a sweeping Houthi offensive launched on September 3 along Yemen’s Red Sea coast.
The Houthis have captured Mocha and Mayun Island and pushed south towards Lahj province, bringing the fighting closer to Aden, the seat of Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
Houthis claim missile, drone attack on Saudi base
Earlier on Sunday, the Houthi group said it had launched a large-scale ballistic missile and drone attack on a military base in southern Saudi Arabia.
In a statement posted on X, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the attack targeted weapons depots and command-and-control facilities at a military base in Sharurah, a Saudi city near the Yemeni border.
Sarea said a “large barrage” of ballistic missiles and drones was used and claimed the attack directly struck its targets. He did not provide details about casualties or damage.
He said the operation was carried out in retaliation for continued Saudi military action in Yemen and warned that any further escalation would be met with “larger operations” deeper inside Saudi territory.
Yemen’s conflict erupted in late 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa and large parts of northern Yemen. A Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year in support of the internationally recognised government, intensifying the conflict.