Yemen frees Shi'ite rebels in north to cement truce

Tue Apr 6, 2010 12:14pm EDT


* Yemen says frees 236 prisoners in two batches

* Shi'ite rebels welcome move, say hundreds still held

* Saudi Arabia hands over bodies of rebels

* Amnesty says war destruction worse than previously thought

(Adds Amnesty statement, paragraphs 8-9)

By Mohammed Ghobari

SANAA, April 6 (Reuters) - Yemen has freed scores of Shi'ite prisoners in a bid to cement a fragile truce with northern rebels, officials said on Tuesday.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh declared an end to the government's long-running war with rebels in the north last month and the prisoner release is seen as an important step towards supporting the ceasefire.

Sanaa, also battling a secessionist movement in the south, has come under heavy international pressure to end the northern war and focus on fighting a resurgent al Qaeda, which the West fears is exploiting instability in Yemen to launch attacks in the region and beyond.

Previous truces to end the northern war, which has displaced 250,000 people, have not held and analysts are sceptical the latest ceasefire will last as it fails to address insurgent complaints of discrimination by the government.

"(Some) 236 Houthi rebels have been freed in two batches, carrying out a ceasefire signed between the two sides in February," a security source said, referring to the rebels by the clan name of their leaders.

The rebels, who themselves freed at least 170 soldiers and tribal fighters last month, welcomed the government move but said only a few dozen prisoners had been freed and hundreds remained in jails.

"The decision is a positive step, and we welcome it. But we were not officially informed and until now the (full) release has not been finished," a rebel official said. "There are a large number of prisoners. The number is around 600."



MORE DESTRUCTION THAN THOUGHT

Amnesty International said on Tuesday that images it had obtained from an independent source showed destruction in the northern war had been worse than previously thought and that market places, mosques, petrol stations, small businesses, a primary school and dozens of homes had been flattened.

"This is a largely invisible conflict that has been waged behind closed doors. These images reveal the true scale and ferocity of the bombing and the impact it had on the civilians caught up in it," Philip Luther, regional deputy director of Amnesty International, said in a statement.

Aid and media groups have complained about the government restricting access to many war areas during the fighting.

Neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, was drawn into the war in November after insurgents seized Saudi border areas.

Rebels had accused Riyadh of allowing Yemeni troops to use its territory to launch attacks against them. Their incursion led to clashes in which at least 113 Saudi soldiers were killed.

Fighting between Saudis and the rebels has since ended, and the insurgents have said that Riyadh handed over the bodies of 32 insurgents killed in clashes at the border. (Writing by Cynthia Johnston and Firouz Sedarat; editing by Noah Barkin)



Comments (0)
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.