Yemen Shiite rebels release 100 soldiers, tribesmen

Shiite rebels on Sunday released 100 army soldiers and pro-government tribesmen they captured during clashes in a volatile north-western Yemeni region last week, a rebel spokesman said in a statement, dpa reported.

The freed men were among 228 military personnel and tribesmen loyal to the government captured by the Houthi rebel group during clashes in the Harf Sufian district of Amran province.

They were handed over to two members of a committee monitoring a cease-fire between the insurgents and government forces, the rebel spokesman Muhammad Abdul-Salam said in an e-mailed statement.

The statement did not say how many soldiers were among those who were freed.

The rebels, known as Houthis after the family of their leader, besieged the al-Za'ala army post in Harf Sufian district of Amran province for two months before they seized it on July 26, the committee said in a statement carried by state media late on Friday.

Tribal sources have separately told the German Press Agency dpa that around 70 troops were captured by the Houthi insurgents during the clashes in al-Za'ala.

On Saturday, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh called on the rebels to abide by the six terms set out by the government as conditions to end the military hostilities, saying that his government would stick to peaceful solution to the conflict.

The government's six conditions for peace include the end of hostilities by the insurgents; their withdrawal from all districts and mountainous positions; and the surrender of military hardware seized from the army.