The United States announced Wednesday, October 14 the release of two American prisoners of the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who for their part obtained, in an apparent exchange, the return of more than 200 members of their group long held in Oman.
“The United States welcomes the release today of American citizens Sandra Loli and Mikael Gidada from the hands of the Houthis in Yemen.
We extend our condolences to Bilal Fateen's family whose remains will also be repatriated, ”
Presidential National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien said in a statement.
The detention of these Americans had not previously been the subject of any official communication from Washington.
Read also: Yemen, a drama behind closed doors
Richard Boni, Sandra Loli's husband, said she had traveled to Yemen to work in humanitarian aid, and in particular in the distribution of drinking water, before being held hostage for sixteen months.
“We have been waiting for this day for a long time,”
he said in a statement.
Mikael Gidada, an American businessman, had been detained for about a year, an adviser to President Trump
told the
Wall Street Journal
, who revealed their release.
Washington also secured the repatriation of the remains of Bilal Fateen, a third American national who was a prisoner of the Houthis.
US Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo Confirmed He
"Died While In Captivity"
, without however mentioning the circumstances of his death.
The White House thanked the monarchs of Oman and Saudi Arabia
"for their efforts to allow the release"
of these Americans.
According to the
Wall Street Journal
, they were released as part of an exchange.
The Houthis have in fact announced that around 240 members of their movement were able to return to Sanaa, the rebel-controlled capital of Yemen, on Wednesday.
Read also: In Yemen, the virus accentuates the ravages of the war
They are a group of people who traveled to Oman two years ago for medical treatment, but have since been stranded in the Gulf country.
They were repatriated "on two planes from Oman," said Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdel Salam.
"Among them are the wounded people who went to Muscat during the talks in Sweden, and whom the United Nations did not let go according to the agreements,"
he said of negotiations organized by the UN in 2018.
A senior rebel official, Mohamed Ali al-Houthi, accused the Saudi-led military coalition, which supports the internationally recognized Yemeni government, of having so far refused the return of the 240 people from Oman.
“Today we are happy to welcome some injured brothers who were stranded abroad because of the persistent brutal siege imposed on our country,”
he said on Twitter.
"The coalition prevented their comings and goings, in one of its war crimes against the Yemenis,"
he accused.
Read also: Yemen: southerners proclaim their autonomy
The war in Yemen has claimed tens of thousands of lives, mostly civilians, according to international NGOs, and triggered what the UN has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
The United States supports the coalition led by Riyadh, despite criticism from human rights defenders who denounce its methods and mistakes, facing Iran, a common enemy accused of manipulating the Houthis and destabilizing the Middle East.
Since his election four years ago, Donald Trump has clearly made the release of American “hostages” and his fellow citizens
“unjustly detained”
abroad a priority.
He has recorded several successes in this area, notably with the repatriation of Americans from North Korea and Iran, sometimes in prisoner exchanges.