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159 detainees released in Sanaa with Red Cross support

Houthi authorities released 159 detainees in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, with Red Cross support on 17 October. The unilateral operation took place outside the Stockholm Agreement. Red Cross teams interviewed detainees, informed families and checked their fitness to travel, while the Houthi committee retained responsibility for choosing who was released.

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Three men walk through an open stone courtyard gate toward a white minibus, with Sanaa-style tower houses and rocky hills beyond.

Unilateral release outside the Stockholm process

Houthi authorities in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, released 159 conflict-related detainees on 17 October with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross, the humanitarian organisation assisting people affected by war. The operation was unilateral and took place outside the Stockholm Agreement.[1], [2]

The Houthi National Committee for Prisoners Affairs initiated the release. Red Cross delegates interviewed each detainee before departure, informed families of the approaching release and offered assistance for their return home. The organisation did not choose the detainees or determine how many would leave.[1], [2]

Medical teams prepare the journey home

Medical teams assessed the detainees’ health and fitness for road travel. People with additional needs received individual travel arrangements. Houthi committee chief Abdelqader al-Murtada said those released were fighters from Yemen’s internationally recognised government who had surrendered during the September offensive along the Red Sea coast. That description of their capture is his account.[1]

Earlier releases used separate arrangements

The Red Cross supported the unilateral release of 153 detainees in January 2025 and 113 in May 2024. Approximately 900 people took part in a United Nations-supervised exchange in April 2023. A separate agreement signed in Jordan in May 2026 envisaged exchanging more than 1,600 detainees. The Red Cross said it remained ready, at the parties’ request, to support future releases as a neutral intermediary.[1]

References

  1. News sourceLatin Times159 detainees released in Yemen with Red Cross support↩1↩2↩3↩4
  2. News sourceInternational Committee of the Red CrossICRC supports release of 159 detainees in Sanaa↩1↩2
Russia-Ukraine warMiddle East balance of power

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