Arab News: Saudi soldier Musa Awaji has arrived back in the Kingdom after he was released by his Houthi captors in Yemen. Col. Turki Al-Maliki, spokesman for the Coalition to Support legitimacy in Yemen, said Awaji flew in to King Salman Air Base in Riyadh at 9:45 p.m. on January 29.
The Houthis agreed to release him because of the poor state of his health and their inability to provide suitable care for him. It followed a joint negotiation effort by the leadership of the coalition forces and Martin Griffith, the special envoy of the secretary-general of the United Nations to Yemen. In return, the coalition has agreed to release seven Houthi detainees.
Al-Maliki praised Griffith and the International Committee of the Red Cross for their efforts in responding to the calls of the coalition leadership for Awaji to be released due to the concerns about his health.
Negotiations about prisoners have previously been ignored the Houthis without regard to humanitarian issues, Al-Maliki said. The militias continue to hold thousands of Yemeni people captive, including political, social and military leaders. Among them is former Yemeni Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Mahmoud Al-Subaihi, whose immediate and unconditional release has been called for by a UN Security Council resolution.
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