Yemen: Houthis release 600 President Saleh supporters

By Mehmet Nuri Ucar

SANAA,Yemen (AA) - Houthi rebels on Saturday released 600 people who were detained after Yemen’s former president and General People's Congress (GPC) leader Ali Abdullah Saleh was killed, according to the official SABA news agency.

Saleh was killed by Houthis Dec. 4.

The news agency said that 600 pro-Saleh people were released following detention during the clashes which broke out after the assassination of Saleh last month.

In December the Houthis released 120 supporters of Saleh.

Yemen has remained dogged by violence since 2014, when the Houthis and pro-Saleh forces together overran much of the country, including Sanaa.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains and shoring up Yemen’s pro-Saudi government.

The country currently faces what the UN has called “the worst humanitarian disaster of modern times”, with millions of Yemenis reportedly on the verge of starvation.