Yemen's Houthi group unilaterally released 112 detainees in the Houthi-held Yemeni capital, Sanaa, on May 26, Yemeni News Agency SABA reported. 

At a press conference in Sanaa attended by the released prisoners on Sunday, Abdul Qader al-Murtada, head of the Houthi Prisoner Affairs Committee, said the decision to release the detainees was made a few days ago by Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi. Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed internationally recognized government out of Sanaa.

Over the years, the UN has been making efforts to get the detainees, mostly political opponents, human rights activists and journalists, released and reach a political settlement between the Yemeni warring parties.