Yemen rebels free former president’s sons

By Murad al-Arifi

SANAA

Houthi rebels have released the sons of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh from prison in the capital Sanaa after a 10-month detention, according to the official Saba news agency on Wednesday.

Saba, citing a source with the Houthi-run interior ministry, said the two sons were released under a pardon issued by the Shia Houthi group.

No details were yet available about the fate of the former president’s brother, who is still held by the rebel group.

Houthi rebels have rounded up a number of Saleh’s relatives following violent clashes between Saleh loyalists and rebels in Sanaa last year, which ended with the death of the former president.

Impoverished Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including Sanaa.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.

The ongoing violence has devastated Yemen’s basic infrastructure, prompting the UN to describe the situation as “one of the worst humanitarian disasters of modern times”.