An American citizen detained by Shiite Houthi rebels in
Yemen for more than a year and a half has been released, U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday.
In a statement, Kerry welcomed reports of the release of Wallead
Yusuf Pitts Luqman, recognizing it as a "positive gesture by the
Houthis."
Last month, in a Facebook posting, Luqman's wife Jihan Mohamed
appealed for her husband's release, saying he was being "held
unjustly" without charges by the Houthis' political security
organization in the capital Sanaa. She said her husband had been in
Yemen teaching English and was detained in April 2015 while trying
to leave the country by bus.
Kerry expressed his appreciation to Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin
Said Al Said and his government for their help in securing Luqman's
"safe return."
The Houthis had earlier released several other Americans who
were detained after the Shiite rebels took control of Sanaa.
Yemen, on the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, has been
in the midst of a civil war since September 2014 when the Houthi
rebels swept into Sanaa and overthrew the government of President
Abed-Rabbo Mansour Hadi. In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition of
Arab countries began a military campaign against Houthi forces.
The Saudi-led campaign initially had the logistical and
intelligence support of the U.S., but mounting civilian casualties
from its airstrikes led to America pulling back.
A human rights group in Yemen said in a report Sunday that
violations by the warring parties in the southern city of Taiz,
Yemen's third largest city, have killed or wounded hundreds of
civilians.
The Houthis have besieged Taiz since March. Taiz residents say
more than 1,600 civilians have been killed.
Radhya al-Mutawakel, the head of the Mwatana Organization for
Human Rights, said the violations in Taiz "amount to war
crimes."