The Riyadh-led Arab coalition freed two American women who had been held captive by Yemen's Ansar Allah rebels in Sanaa, the Saudi Press Agency reported this on Friday, citing the kingdom's defense ministry.
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said that "a special operation carried out at the request of the United States managed to rescue two American women, aged 19 and 20, who were held by the Houthis in Sanaa and had been mistreated by the rebels." He noted that "the Saudi Air Force transported them first to the Yemeni city of Aden and then to Riyadh, where the American citizens were given the medical care they needed." According to al-Maliki, the American women "have already been handed over to US officials."
Al-Maliki stressed that "this operation demonstrates the close cooperation between the governments of the Kingdom and the United States in the field of security, especially in the fight against terrorist organizations."
In Yemen, the confrontation between government forces and Houthi militias has been ongoing since August 2014. It reached its most active phase with the invasion of the country in March 2015 by the Saudi-led coalition. The conflict has created the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. According to the UN, more than 24 million Yemenis (approximately 80% of the population) are in need of humanitarian assistance, and the number of internally displaced persons exceeds 3 million.
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Based on materials from TASS