The state news of Oman said that the American captives were flown from Yemen by an Omani aircraft, and on Thursday a video broadcast by Omani TV showed US citizens in Muscat. It said that 250 “Yemeni captives” receiving treatment in Oman were returned to Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, on two flights as part of the exchange.
T.V. of Oman State
“The United States welcomed the release today of US citizens Sandra Loli and Mikel Gidada from Houthi custody in Yemen,” National Security Advisor Robert O. Bryan said in a statement. “We send our condolences to the family of Bilal Fateen, whose remains will also be recovered.”
O’Brien did not mention the exchange, but thanked the leaders of Oman and Saudi Arabia for helping to ensure the release of the Americans.
An American official told CBS News ‘Christina Ruffini’ that the State Department had been working to secure the release of the Americans for a long time, and called their release a big news.
Kieran Ramsey, director of the Trump administration’s mortgage recovery cell, said that Loli and Gidada would soon return to the United States.
“Sadly, one of these Americans died during their illegal captivity,” Ramsey said.
Kash Patel, a deputy assistant to President Donald Trump who worked on the deal, told The Wall Street Journal that Loli had been held by the Houthis for about three years and Gidada had been held captive for about a year.
Yemen drowned in chaos and civil war When Houthi rebels captured Sanaa in 2014 from an internationally recognized government. The Saudi-led coalition that has been aligned with the government has been fighting the Houthis since March 2015.
The war in Yemen has led to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, causing millions of people to suffer from food and medical shortages. According to a database project that tracks violence, it has killed more than 112,000 people, including fighters and civilians.
According to the newspaper, Saudi officials said they were reluctant to withdraw the deal as it trained dozens of Houthi militants on advanced drones and missiles to return to the war zone.
Mohammed Abdel-Salam, spokesman for Iran-Imployed militants also confirmed that around 240 rebels returned to Sanaa on two Omani flights. The rebels were among the rebels who visited Muscat during peace talks in Sweden two years ago.
When contacted by The Associated Press, Abdel-Salam declined to comment on the release of both Americans.
The Americans’ release came a day before the planned UN-Brocade Exchange of more than 1,000 prisoners between the Houthis and the internationally recognized government. The United Nations said in September that the two warring parties agreed to exchange 1,081 conflict-related prisoners, with Saudi and Sudanese troops fighting on behalf of the Saudi-led coalition.
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